


Questions

by dontcallmekoko



Series: The No-Basketball AU [1]
Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Blow Jobs, Developing Relationship, Dorms, First Meetings, Insecurity, Jealousy, M/M, Making Out, My First Fanfic, Porn with Feelings, Slow Burn, Slow To Update
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-06-21
Updated: 2016-11-23
Packaged: 2017-12-15 16:42:52
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 24
Words: 70,179
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/851748
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dontcallmekoko/pseuds/dontcallmekoko
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Midorima and Takao are college students and meet for the first time at a goukon neither wanted to attend. Takes place in an AU where none of the Kurobas characters play basketball.</p><p>*Under intense proofreading as of 2/14/2016!*<br/>(8% done; if a chapter is titled, it's been reworked!)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Aren't goukons usually more fun?

**Author's Note:**

> ~~This was originally posted on FanFiction.net, but now I'll be updating it here, as well. :]~~
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> ~~It's my first fic, so I worry non-stop about it. Hope you enjoy!~~
> 
>  
> 
> I've been meaning to go through this thing with a fine tooth comb, so if this is your first time reading it: awesome! You get to read my first fic in its final form! And if you're considering re-reading it, please do!
> 
> The only other relevant thing to note at the beginning of this story is that the chapter titles are thoughts from Midorima or Takao regarding what happens in said chapter. It should be fairly easy to figure out who exactly lol.
> 
> Enjoy! (And don't at any point hesitate to leave me a comment just cause it's an old fic, I eat that shit up and love talking MidoTaka.)

“ _Pleeease_ , we’re only one man short, Takao-kun!”

Takao Kazunari let out a sigh and resisted rolling his eyes. Lying on his bed, he'd been playing on his PSP before he finally paused his game and looked up. His roommate, Fujioka, returned a look of pure pleading. The guy was certainly nice enough but... a goukon?

“Are you _sure_ you can’t find anyone else?” Takao asked, as gently as possible. Fujioka averted his eyes, clearly having hoped to avoid that question.

“Well, it’s not that I can’t find anyone else...” He looked at Takao again, who was now giving him his full attention. “It’s just there’s this girl going, Ayaka—um, Inoue-san. I asked her to come as a joke but she ended up saying yes... So now instead of four girls and four guys, we have five girls and need...”

Takao sat up and said, “Yeah, I get it.” He stretched his arms out, suddenly realizing how long he’d been cooped up with his game for. “I guess it’s tonight, too?”

Fujioka nodded.

“And I guess I do owe you.”

Fujioka blushed a little bit at that remark. “I mean, if that’s how you feel about it,” he replied.

Takao was referring to an incident from the first week of classes that semester. He’d had maybe a _little_ too much to drink and a hot guy with him; somehow the two of them thought it made perfect sense to have sex in the common area as opposed to walking the short distance to Takao’s bedroom... and karma bit him in the ass in the form of his new roommate walking in on him getting pounded, _hard_. If he’d ever felt like keeping that part of his life private, he'd thoroughly destroyed that option.

Takao smiled at him. “Don’t worry, I’d be happy to help. It should be fun, right?”

Fujioka smiled back, perhaps a little too enthusiastically. “Yeah!” Reigning himself back a bit, he added, “I mean, I know it might be boring for you but—”

Takao snickered and waved the comment off. “Come on, come on, like I said, I owe you! Plus, conversation and food is never boring.” He smiled again. “Good luck with this 'Inoue' girl.” Fujioka blushed again.

"Thanks. It’s at eight—we'll leave together, right?” Takao nodded and Fujioka let himself out.

Takao sighed again and fought the urge to lie back down and continue his game. It was already six so he’d be leaving soon... it was probably for the best to take a shower and not just sit around until the last minute. Then again, that boss wasn’t gonna defeat itself.

Then again, he didn’t want to arrive less than presentable.

Then again, it was a goukon for heteros anyway.

Then _again_ , he felt he owed it to Fujioka to put some effort in.

_Then again, laziness._

Takao smacked both of his cheeks to snap himself out of it. He bounced out of bed and prepared to take a shower.

* * *

 

_So... bored..._

Takao thought the same thing over and over, the phrase itself actually playing in his head. The group date turned out to be even more tiresome than Takao expected—and big social events were usually his thing. He focused on his food and made sure to eat at a slower pace to make his lack of involvement seem more natural, as if he was just busy eating. He glanced over at Fujioka.

“He seems to be enjoying himself...” Takao huffed, not _at all_ sulking.

The whole set up was awkward. There apparently hadn't been anyone to introduce people to one another, but more importantly, the seating arrangement was off. Takao was sure that initially it was supposed to have been boys and girls each seated on their respective sides, but Fujioka had instantly sat down next to the Inoue girl. This displaced another girl into sitting next to Takao. Fortunately for her, she was getting along very well with the guy sitting on her other side, both seeming like the quiet, bookish type. The whole thing seemed rushed and last-minute. Furthermore, there was one of _those_ guys at the date. Sometimes, these things are set up simply as an excuse to be around one incredibly good-looking person. It’s obvious that the group date is one of these when three out of the five women in the group spend all of their time talking to one dude.

The boy in question was very tall, had to be at least six feet, Takao guessed. He had blond hair and these _almost_ girly eyes and face, but a super fit body to counteract it. Aside from his undeniable attractiveness, he even seemed to have a good personality. Of course, he was being completely bombarded by the three girls who were all trying to get his attention, so there was no way for Takao to know for sure.

Apparently he was a model? He managed to catch that much since the girls wouldn’t shut up about it.

The guy sitting on Takao’s left, though, was a different story. The nicest word he could think of to describe him was 'intimidating' but the first word that sprung to his mind had been 'surly'. Takao covertly stole another look at him.

_There’s that angry face again. What’s he so mad about? That blond guy getting all the attention maybe?_

He had green hair, short but still long enough that it covered his forehead, resting right above his eyes. The way his arms were crossed made him look ready to leave at any moment despite his plate of food remaining virtually untouched. His glasses had no top frame and he just... looked... _pissed off_. Takao just couldn't get past how  _pissed_ he looked.

“You look pissed.”

The green-haired boy’s eyes flicked downwards, glaring at him.

“What did you say?”

Takao nearly jumped. "Who me?” He cracked a smile, having to force it a bit.  _No one's_ voice had any business being that deep—especially some college kid with _green hair._  And his tone matched his expression, to boot. The guy didn’t answer him but wouldn’t break eye contact, like he was intent on breaking Takao's will to converse with him. He found himself chuckling instead.

“Ah, I just pointed out that you look like you might flip this table over.”

He finally looked away. “Don’t be ridiculous.”

_Wow, that's abrasive. My god, he must leave such a shitty taste in people’s mouths._

“So what is it? That’s got you so mad, I mean,” Takao probed. The guy stayed quiet.

_Ignoring me, huh?_

“You get dumped recently?” No response. “Are you a vegetarian?” A quick glance at his build and Takao had a strong hunch that wasn’t it. Jeez, this guy was insanely fit, too. In fact, he also _had_ to be tall—what the hell was with these two guys?

“Oh!” Takao lowered his voice and leaned in a little closer. “Is it because the three available girls are all wet for Mr. Model over there?”

“Wha—?!” The green-haired boy jerked away from him and stared at him in what was very clearly disgust. The slight red rising in his cheeks also hinted at embarrassment. He regained most of his composure and sat up straight again, readjusting his glasses. “...Repulsive.”

“Pft!” Takao himself hadn’t even anticipated that snicker. And he _certainly_ hadn’t expected that reaction—what was that about?? “Calm down, I’m just kidding! I hardly think he’s _repulsive_ just because he’s popular with girls.”

“Not him— the thing you said!” he replied instantly, actually snapping back at him.

_What is this?_

“Huh? What repulsive thing did I say?” The red in his cheeks got just a little darker.

“You know exactly what you said. And to say something like that when the people you’re referring to are right in front of you truly is revolting.”

Ugh, well that was technically fair. Takao pouted and returned his attention to his plate. It took about four seconds before he couldn't help but look back at the guy.

_Seriously, what is this?_

“If I said sorry, would I still be repulsive?” he asked. 

The giant was quiet for a moment before saying, “Why would that matter at all to me?”

Takao smirked. “So you can show that much distaste towards something that doesn’t matter at all to you?”

_This guy is funny._

“You don’t make any sense." He needlessly adjusted his glasses again. "And you ask too many questions.”

_I wanna be his friend._


	2. I shouldn't have let her talk me into this...

Unfortunately, the goukon didn’t get much more entertaining for Takao. The reserved couple left together, before anyone else. The next to leave was the pretty boy, citing that he had a photo shoot early in the morning—Takao was pretty confident that he was just bored with the girls’ incessant fawning. It was clear the dinner had been a thorough success for his roommate, judging by the intimate way he and his girl were speaking now. That at least let him feel like he hadn’t wasted the night.

Just as Takao rose, the guy next to him stood as well. Their arms rubbed against one another, causing the other guy to glare at him. Takao wanted to make a remark but held his tongue out of surprise—he really _was_ tall. Taller than the model even. Six feet and... he couldn’t begin to guess.

“ _Giant,_ ” Takao said, accidentally out loud (and _quite_ loud), as the boy walked away. He almost covered his mouth straight after and hoped he hadn’t been heard. He was usually better at keeping his thoughts to himself.

...Well, that wasn’t totally true. The bit about hoping he hadn’t been heard. He kind of did want the guy to turn around and say something. He seemed to get so irritated so easily—it was fascinating.

On his way out, Takao smiled and waved at Fujioka, silently wishing him good luck one last time. It wasn’t until he was outside and cool, fresh air hit him that he finally realized how strongly the place had smelled of meat.

* * *

“Yes. Yes, Mother, I know.”

Midorima Shintarou closed his eyes, feeling frustrated. His phone had rang the moment he’d set a foot outside—his mother's timing was as impeccable as ever.

“Shin-kun, I know you well enough to know you probably just sat there keeping to yourself... if you’re ever to find a girlfriend, you can’t act stuck up!”

Midorima opened his eyes then, staring up at the night sky and holding back a loud, hard sigh. “Yes, Mother.”

There was silence on the other side for a moment. Then, “I know you’re just saying yes to get me to leave you alone.”

Midorima didn’t say anything at for about a second and then stumbled to say, “Uh—no, Mother—”

“Shin-kun, I’m only trying to help you. Your father is an inflexible loner, too, and look how long it took for him to find me!”

This time he did sigh. 

“Mother, it’s late and I’m hanging up. You should go to bed.”

“Don’t you hang up on me! And just whom exactly are you sending to bed?” She sounded a bit cross with him, but in the background Midorima could hear his father’s voice demanding something of her. He was likely affirming that they both had work in the morning and it _was_ their usual bedtime.

“Goodnight, Mother.” After getting her to give him an annoyed 'goodnight' in return, he hung up. He also decided then and there that this was the last time he would attend a group date and maybe even the last time he’d do a favor for his mother in regards to his social life. As Midorima closed his phone and slipped it back into his pocket, the restaurant door audibly open and shut.

“Eww, my shirt smells like barbecue...”

Midorima looked behind him and the boy who bugged him earlier was gingerly sniffing at the neckline of his t-shirt. He looked back up at him and Midorima turned away, beginning his walk home.

A few seconds later, he realized he could hear footsteps behind him. How annoying.

After a few more minutes of walking straight, Midorima found himself even more profoundly irritated. He took a breath to calm himself down a bit.

_Common sense dictates that he’s definitely not following you. You know this. You obviously just live in the same direction._

He actually was able to calm down a bit when his turn came up. The only thing in that direction was the student dorms.

 _It’s not that late yet... after I get in, I’ll shower and then try to finish that paper I have due next week. I can’t imagine that taking much time, so maybe I’ll squeeze in a few chapters of the history textbook. I’m already six chapters ahead, though, so maybe I should—_ fuck _, are you serious!?_

It took iron discipline for him to not whip his head around and visually confirm what he was hearing—this bastard was still following him!

“Pft!”

Midorima adjusted his glasses, trying to ignore the guy. Giggling soon broke the silence between them.

Midorima finally gave in and said, loudly enough that the asshole would hear him, “What the hell are you laughing at?”

The snickering stopped for a moment. “Who me?” the guy asked for the second time that night.

“As if there’s anyone else here—yes, you!” He was having a hard time containing his anger for some reason. Something about this guy pissed him off very easily, even with his back to him.

“I-it’s just..." the guy started, back to soft laughter already. "You’re so mad..."

That did it.

Midorima stopped walking and turned around, his eyes shooting daggers.

“Whoa.” The other boy stopped walking, as well, his eyes widening a bit. The look of surprise soon left when he smiled. “I just thought it was funny, that’s all.”

Midorima didn’t say a word.

“The whole time I was walking behind you, I could tell you were mad," He continues, smile just getting bigger as he digs his hands into his jeans pockets. "And I just kept thinking to myself, ‘damn, he must think I’m following him’ and every time I’d think maybe I was imagining that, your back would tense up and you’d walk more stiffly and...” His words trailed off into laughter and he took a few steps forward, seemingly undaunted by the glare Midorima was doling out. 

“You’re way too easy to read.”

The boy was probably of average height but was so much shorter than Midorima he found himself craning his neck a little in order to look him in the eye. Though he probably wouldn’t have needed to if the guy would have backed up just a bit—why was he standing so close? Far too prideful to back down, Midorima continued to glare at him.

And so the two of them stood there. Two-thirds of the way home. In silence. Midorima was aware that he couldn’t come up with anything to say, but why was this loudmouth suddenly keeping quiet? The guy liked acting goofy but his silver eyes were very sharp when he wasn’t laughing. Searching. All-seeing. He suddenly found himself lost in his gaze.

The eye contact was too intense.

“What’s your name?” The other boy finally said. He smiled again and his eyes did the same, finally feeling less... invasive. Midorima suddenly felt a lot less tense then before.

“Mi...” _Why am I giving him my name?_ “Midorima... Shintarou.”

“Midorima-kun, huh?”

He flinched slightly at the ‘-kun’.

“I’m Takao Kazunari.” He lifted a hand and smoothly ran it through the front of his hair, instead of extending it to him. “We should hang out some time.”

Midorima felt his face heat up and he suddenly felt the need to do anything else. He broke the eye contact, crossed his arms, and readjusted his glasses.

_Yeah, right._

_As if I’d ever._

_I have no time for someone like you._

_I’d rather die._

He thought up tons of rejections, hundreds of excuses, yet somehow was at a loss for words.

Takao just continued smiling and patted him on the arm once. “I’ll see you around then.”

Midorima watched him walk away for a short while before heading in the same direction. Once he saw him make a right into the Shuutoku dormitory grounds, he cursed under his breath.

_Seriously..._

He did ease up when he saw Takao head toward the B block building—Midorima lived in A.

When he finally returned to his room, he carried out the tasks just as he’d planned them on his walk home.

Showered. Finished a paper. Studied.

At a quarter past eleven, he decided it was time to sleep. In high school, the latest he would ever go to bed was at ten—any later and he usually didn't have the energy to jog after waking up. Perhaps higher stamina came with age? After putting his school supplies in their appropriate places, he realized his desktop was still on. He shook the mouse to wake up the monitor.

On the screen was Cancer’s Oha-Asa prediction, still up from that morning. Before exiting out of his browser, Midorima took a moment to re-read what was on the screen.

_Be prepared to take a risk for another’s sake! All in all, today’s plans will go off without a hitch. However, watch out for Scorpio! When things appear calm, expect Scorpio to cause a bit of trouble for you!_

Surely enough, his mother had called and exasperated him, just when he’d finally gotten out of his boring group date. Midorima smiled to himself before shutting his computer off.

Oha-Asa really did get it right every time.


	3. Chapter 3

It was Monday and Takao was waiting to get out of his last class of the day. While he wasn't by any means an academic genius, he was bright enough that he often found himself either bored or distracted during classes, with only a few exceptions. He'd spent a lot of the day stifling back yawns, checking the time, and trying not to get caught messing around on his phone.

Now, though, his mind wandered slightly to Saturday night.

He hadn't seen his roommate since then, if he didn't count the quick 'good mornings' they'd exchanged earlier that day. Fujioka was a third-year med student and always spending his free time doing one thing: studying.

The sudden sound of chair legs scratching against linoleum instantly pulled Takao out of his thoughts.

_Oh, class must be over…_

On his walk through campus and to his dorm, he continued thinking about it—the goukon.

About the food. The bookish couple and the noisy fan girls. His roommate and the bubble he managed to create with his crush. The model that, the more he thought about, the more he got a bit of a not-totally-straight vibe from. And then his thoughts came around to the guy he talked to—Midorima Shintarou. Takao chuckled softly to himself. He was sure he'd never met anyone so easy to mess with.

_His reactions were so satisfying—like he's never heard a joke before or something._

Takao had resigned himself to thinking that the big guy had just been having an off night. No one was really  _that_  hostile towards people they just met, right? He reached his residential building and let himself in.

_Ah, and he thought I was following him home, too… Seriously, what a weirdo. And we both live in this block of buildings so I'll probably see him again._

Takao pulled his keys out of his pocket as he approached door number 10.

_Eventually._

Once he stuck the key into the doorknob, he realized he'd been thinking about this uptight dude for at least a whole half of the walk home. Feeling a little confused, he shook his head to clear his thoughts and opened the door.

_How funny would it be if he was right there when I walked in, though?_

Oh. Apparently, Fujioka was home and using the common room to study with someone.

Fujioka looked up. "Hi, Takao-kun."

"What!?" Takao almost dropped his bag. "You're  _kidding._ "  
_The green giant is in my living room!_

Fujioka looked lost for a moment before registering what exactly his roommate might be overreacting to. And the cause of his overreaction looked over at him, as well.

Sitting in the armchair across from Fujioka, Midorima's expression went from neutral to sour almost instantly upon establishing eye contact with Takao. Then it looked like he muttered something to himself.

"This is Midorima." Fujioka said. "He's also studying medicine so he's tutoring me in a few of my... weaker topics." He seemed a bit embarrassed.

"Uh…" Takao was at a loss for words. His _very _casual what-if had come true. _Does this mean I'm psychic?___

Midorima's expression didn't change. Kind of like he wanted him to leave the room.

 _He wants_ me _to leave my own living room?_  Takao couldn't help but smirk.

Recomposing himself, and casually letting his bag slide down his arm and into his hand, he approached the two of them and sidled up next to his roommate.

"Actually, we've already met." He flashed a smile at Midorima who was still looking... less than personable. "We sat next to each other on the date, Fuji-kun."

Fujioka looked clueless. "Did you?"

 _Unbelievable._ "Wow! You must really be in love to not even remember the people you shared dinner with!" Takao let his bag rest on the floor and sat himself on the arm of Fujioka's chair. "Hey, do you remember me being there?"

"No! Of course I do, we walked there together!"

Takao laughed before turning his attention back to their guest.

Midorima sat completely still, arms crossed and clearly sulking--identical to how he'd looked when Takao first met him.

"So, Midorima-kun, are you a junior, too?"

Midorima's lips were pursed so tightly it looked like he wasn't going to answer. A pause hung in the air for a few seconds.

"I'm a sophomore," he finally said. Yup, just as hostile as Saturday.

"Huh?" Surprised, Takao looked at Fujioka and then back at him. "You're tutoring your—" Takao stopped himself since it  _did_  look like his roommate was a bit embarrassed by it. "Never mind."

Takao excused himself and dragged his bag into his room, shutting the door behind him. Soft conversation resumed in the living room.

_What do I do now?  
…_

Four minutes later, he reentered the boys' studying space, this time with two of his own textbooks.

"Excuse me…" he said, squeezing his way past Fujioka. He flashed a smile before sitting down on the couch between the other boys' armchairs. "Hope you don't mind if I study here, too…" He crossed his legs, posing cross-legged style on the sofa, rested one of his books on the table, and opened the other in his lap.

Though he was quite visibly annoyed, Midorima didn't say anything.

Takao pretended to study while he observed the two of them and his mind raced.

_So they're both medical students, huh?_

_It looks like Fuji-kun's really struggling… but come on, man, having your kouhai tutor you?_

… _Or maybe this Midorima's a prodigy of some kind? He certainly carries himself in that way._

Midorima looked up from his notes and Takao instantly looked back at his book. He soon found himself distracted, though—Midorima was reaching across the table, pointing something out to Fujioka.

 _Long arms…_  Takao continued to look on.  _Long fingers, too… His nails are perfect._ He looked back at his book but almost immediately stared at the table again.  _He's left-handed._

And without warning, Takao found himself somehow mesmerized by the boy's hand.

The palm was broad but the fingers elegant. They didn't really move completely in sync, it seemed more like each finger followed the others' lead—watching his hand move, just while pointing at text, was akin to watching some sort of choreography.

_They might be perfect for complicated stuff like surgery... or playing piano. Guitar, even._

Takao tried to tear his eyes away from the hand but was inexplicably drawn in as soon as he managed it. Midorima picked up a pen to point out something in particular, holding it perfectly correct.

_Watchmaking... model trains... running them through hair..._

Takao's brow scrunched up and he bit his lip. He could feel his face growing hot and he knew he was probably blushing a little.

_Other... things..._

He held his book up so close to his face he could barely breathe, just leaving room for him to continue peeking at Midorima's fingers. He let go of his lip, just to end up grazing against and lightly resting his teeth on the top edge of his psychology textbook.

Midorima spun the pen through his fingers.

Takao had no clue how to cope with being flustered. His face got even hotter and he sunk even further behind his textbook as he found himself thinking...

He… kind of wanted them in his mouth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case you're at all interested, that pen was Midorima's lucky item of the day—something plain and reasonable from Oha Asa for a change.


	4. Chapter 4

Midorima was an observant enough guy—he could be counted on to know when he was being watched. Since he knew so little about his colleague's roommate, he didn't know what to make of his staring at him. His natural assumption was that he was attempting to piss him off but he had to brush that notion aside and think up something else… because even though he felt annoyed by the gaze, Takao wasn't really _doing_  anything.

And was it even really his looking that was annoying him?

...No, it was that he couldn't understand why he was looking at him.

_He's not laughing but is something funny to him? What does he want from me?_

Midorima resisted from stealing a glance back at Takao, knowing that it would result in a short, but undoubtedly very awkward, moment of eye contact before one of them looked away again. He was able to focus on studying and on helping Fujioka but it didn't keep the other guy's furtive glances off of his mind.

After about thirty minutes, the intensity of the stare coming from him had lessened considerably but the constant feeling of being watched hadn't. In fact, Midorima felt more awkward than annoyed now.

_Just_ what is it _he's looking at?!_

Midorima cleared his throat.

"Ah, is it time for you to go?" Fujioka had looked up from his notes and was wearing a pathetic look that plainly said he hoped it wasn't.

"I'm feeling a little uncomfortable, to be honest."

Fujioka's look quickly turned to confusion. "Oh… is your chair no good? Sorry, we don't really have anywhere else to sit…"

The boy in glasses sighed, resting his pen on top of his notebook.

"No, it's this distracting feeling that I'm being  _watched._ "

Midorima instantly glared at Takao, aiming to make immediate eye contact and catch him in the act.

But.

He was… sleeping?

The boy was sitting up but his chin was firmly resting on the top of his book and his eyes were closed. It couldn't have been comfortable but yeah... he looked asleep. There was a beat of silence between he and Fujioka before Midorima finally turned back to his textbook and muttered something that sounded an awful lot like 'never mind.' Fujioka awkwardly smiled and went back to his notes, as well.

" _Pft._ "

Midorima's right ear twitched at the sound and he whipped his head back around to Takao.

Still out.  
 _...Or is he?_

Midorima continued to stare at him.  
 _Would he be faking sleep just to mock me?_ He watched for a twitch of the lip or for one eye to attempt to take a peek.

_How did I end up playing some ridiculous game with him?_

He couldn't let Fujioka catch him eyeing Takao—it would be awkward and make no sense even if he explained. So he found himself studying but consistently darting his eyes over to check on the raven-haired boy. It got to the point where he realized he was no longer absorbing any information—at this point he was  _just_  trying to catch him staring.

An electronic 'beep' went off from Fujioka's phone. Midorima took a break from the tiring task he'd assigned himself and turned his attention to Fujioka reading a text message. His facial expression changed drastically in the span of about two seconds—from a small smile, to a look of panic, and then a slight frown while he turned red all the way up to his ears. What the hell was this about?

Fujioka suddenly stood up. "I have to pick up a book from someone," he said. He sounded proud for some reason. Or no... possibly determined?

Midorima let out a large sigh, put closed the textbook in front of him, and cracked his neck. Then, while stretching an arm, he said simply, "I'll go then."

_Clearly it's time to go. Fujioka hasn't asked a question in some time, indicating he either has a grasp on the material or that he's too tired to keep going._ He tried not to acknowledge the general unrest his roommate was causing him. ...But why? Why was he even giving him the creeps? Midorima stole a quick glance at Takao again.

_He's asleep. And even if he's not, he's not doing anything. So why am I so… just so…?_ He shook his head in frustration, trying to perish the thought. As he started to stand, Fujioka held a hand out toward him.

"Ah, actually!" The boy faltered and withdrew his hand a bit. "Could you wait here? I'm still confused by a lot of stuff… and this'll only take a minute.

Shintarou's eyes bore into him. "Seriously?" he demanded, his tone clearly disapproving.

"Well, probably more than a minute," he corrected, his arm now completely back at his side. "But not more than ten—er, twenty. Twenty to be honest."

Midorima was annoyed and he stood up fully, towering over the other guy and adjust his glasses by the bridge. "Fujioka-san, I—"

The boy took a step to the side and back, towards the door, as he interrupted with, "I know it seems like I know what I'm doing because I've been quiet but really I was trying to be less of a nuisance to you."

Taking another step back, he said, "But in reality, I'm totally lost."

Putting on a light jacket, he pleaded, "I'm sure you understand how awkward it is for me to ask an underclassman to tutor me."

And suddenly, the door was closing, with Fujioka Kenji long gone behind it.

Midorima sighed again—this time a smaller, impotent sigh—and relaxed. He sat back down, wondering two things:  _Why am I so passive today_ and  _Now what?_

"He's a slick bastard, isn't he?"

On the inside, he jumped—but Midorima somehow managed to keep his external composure. He looked over to his right and surely enough, it was Takao who had spoken. He was still sitting with his chin resting on his book. He tilted his head to the side and smiled softly, almost a little sleepily. Those sharp eyes were now clearly open.

Midorima didn't even know where to begin.  
So he didn't. He chose to ignore him.

After a few seconds of him staring at the door, Takao audibly huffed.

"Are you really gonna ignore me?" After more steady silence, he huffed again. "But why?"

"…"

"Hey…" There was a short beat of silence before he said, "Don't you think it's rude to ignore your host?"

"I'm not your guest."  _Damn. I didn't mean to answer._

"Well, that's true but false, isn't it? I didn't invite you here but the person who did just left and this  _is_ my home, too…"

Midorima felt something in his face twitch.  _How annoying._

"Then I'll leave you in peace," he growled, beginning to gather his books.

"Huh?! What, why!?"

"Quite frankly, I find you irritating."

"So mean... Doesn't Fujioka need you, though?"

"…" He stopped packing up at that.  _Damn._  He shot one of his most lethal looks of disdain at Takao, hoping to let him know just how pissed he was to be stuck here with him.

Takao just smiled back. Ugh. He couldn't understand that smile. Why was he so amused?  _What was so entertaining?_

"Just sit back, relax—let's chat!" Takao grinned even more and waved his hand out at him, like an old woman trying to get gossip out of a friend.

"I'm not obliged to talk to you just because you're sitting here."

He gave a small smile this time. "You say that but here you are talking to me anyway."

There was a silence between the two of them for a minute. Takao straightened his textbooks out and then lightly clapped.

"Right! So is Fuji-kun a real dummy or something?"

Midorima crossed his arms and looked in another direction.

"Or is that you're really smart?"

"…"

"He's gone to meet up with the girl he likes—it's going to be a long twenty minutes."

_I don't want to admit it but… he's right if that's true._

There was another beat of silence.

Midorima wanted to make sure he didn't ask anything overly personal—he really didn't care to hear this guy drone on about himself.

"What are you studying." He asked it flatly, more like a resigned statement than a question.

"Psychology."

There was silence again. It made Midorima feel uncomfortable. He'd been expecting him to talk more; he'd talked so much up until this point! He waited a bit more before realizing he really wasn't going to elaborate after all.

_Damn._

"What year are you?" His face heated up while he struggled to not feel awkward. He cursed at himself, fully aware that he was blushing.

"Second, same as you. Though I'm not brilliant enough to be teaching my senpais anything."

Takao smiled again. Midorima wasn't looking at him but he knew somehow.  _He smiles too much_ , he thought.

And now it was painfully quiet again. This was foreign to Midorima—having to fill in conversation. He was usually content to sit in stony silence with someone; he liked peace and quiet. But somehow quiet didn't seem calm when he was in a room with this boy. It felt tense and unbearably loud. It drove him nuts.

"You…"  _No, something else._  Something to get him talking and throw the burden of breaking the ice elsewhere.

"Shintarou-san, are you planning on becoming a surgeon?"

Surprised by the question (and the use of his first name), he looked at Takao again, who had a smile on his face as per usual.

"…That's a rather sharp guess."

Takao's eyes lit up. " _Really?_ I was right?"

Midorima nodded, and then broke eye contact. At least his face was warm instead of burning hot now.

"Jeez, but doesn't that mean you're going to be in school for the rest of your life?"

He scoffed. "You sure like to exaggerate."

"I really couldn't do medical school," Takao said, clearly ignoring his last comment. "That's  _too_  much studying. And I especially couldn't aim to be a surgeon." He grimaced. "Couldn't deal with the pressure of having someone's life in my hands like that…"

"…"

"Ah, but I could tell because your nails are so well taken care of."

Midorima looked at his hand and turned it over. He definitely put a lot of effort in keeping his hands presentable—he didn't want it to but it actually felt pretty satisfying for a near stranger to notice it so quickly.

"Is that so?" he asked, taking care not to show how he felt.

Takao nodded. He opened his mouth as if to say something but then stopped. Instead he stretched over the table and grabbed Midorima's left hand.

"Hey—!"

Midorima instinctively pulled his hand away from him but the shorter boy didn't let go.

"What the fuck are you doing?" he growled through gritted teeth. He didn't like being touched. And this guy was acting really weird all of a sudden.

Takao laughed. "I'm just checking out your fingers, jeez! Calm down, Shin-chan!"

By now his face had to be fire engine red. Midorima pulled his arm back with great force, managing to get out of his grasp.

"Don't be so overly familiar!"

_What the fuck—Shin-chan?_

"Aw, come on, I didn't get to inspect them." Takao sat back down, trying to hold back laughter and Midorima stood up, completely flustered.

In less than a minute, his books were packed up and he was already out the door and on his way out of the building.

And he was fucking furious.

But... was he furious? He tried to keep his arms from swinging wildly as he walked in quick, forceful strides.

_What was that all about? Bugging me while pretending to sleep. Openly mocking me._

His pace only quickened the more he thought about it. The further he got from Takao, the hotter his face got and the more confused he felt.  
He was mad; there was no question about it. He was annoyed. Confused. But there was something else there, too. Something he couldn't place. It was the feeling that had caused him to panic and run off instead of putting that insolent brat in his place.

_...Why can't I stop blushing!?_


	5. Chapter 5

_Uh oh, he left…  
_ It was the first thing Takao thought once he stopped laughing at Midorima's red-faced departure. Fujioka had needed his help… Whoops.

 _I could stay here and do homework, then explain why he left when Fujioka gets back…  
_ Or?  
 _Pft, or I could bail and explain what happened tomorrow._

Yeah, that sounded like less of a pain.

* * *

Takao checked the time on his phone as he walked around his school's campus.

Just 6:30.

The sun seemed like it had a while to go before setting; it was still relatively early. He sulked, just now realizing that he could have avoided by simply locking himself in his room for the rest of the day. But now that he'd been walking for about ten minutes, he felt somehow obliged to continue wandering—at least until it got a little dark out.

Even so… was he actually content to walk around for an hour?

 _Campus is beautiful and all, sure, but I'm already kind of bored…_  he thought. At least there were still people out. The weather at the moment was a perfect example of why autumn was Takao's favorite season; not necessarily warm, but absolutely not cold. You could wear summer clothes without ruining them with sweat and wear light jackets without anyone complaining that you were making them feel hot.

Takao messed with his phone a bit, scrolling through his long list of contacts, contemplating an early evening booty call.

"Who… who… who…" He scrolled through his contact list in search of potential fuck buddies.

He'd only been half-serious when the thought had originally crossed his mind but now that he was actually looking at names, he was so into the idea he was humming. Takao had managed to get around quite a bit since he'd been in college and had more than a few potential candidates. He came down to choosing between Sakurai and Moriyama-kun—basically a choice between whether he wanted to top or bottom. He chose Sakurai.

He was standing out in the open in a way that made it obvious his phone conversation directed which way he would walk next. Their text conversation was riddled with Sakurai's tiny apologies and, after a while, it started to feel like he was attempting to squirm out of meeting up. Once Sakurai sent what felt like the hundredth text that featured a 'sorry' and a 'maybe', Takao sighed and wrote:

_never mind. some other time, ok?_

And with that message, he wasn't feeling terribly interested in fooling around anymore. Not with the amount of effort it suddenly felt like it would take. It was then that he realized where he was—near the campus's soccer field. He shoved his phone in his pocket and figured he might as well watch a game or something. Once he was at the soccer field, he recognized someone.

 _Kise was his name, right?_   _The model._

Takao watched the school's soccer team practice from the bleachers. He didn't really know much about soccer, he was more of a basketball fan, but skill is truly an undeniable thing—and it was obvious the model was  _good._  Every time he had possession of the ball, he handled it with what looked like no effort at all. He was barely breaking a sweat and, in fact, looked almost bored. No, he was definitely bored. Takao knew the face he had far too well; it was the face he made while trying to stay awake during group discussions in his philosophy class. He didn't mean to be disrespectful, but it just felt as if no one knew what they were talking about, even when they made perfect sense. It wasn't that they were too dumb it was just that sometimes Takao felt…

"Too bright…" He held up an arm and squinted. The last glimmers of light blinded him for a second as the sun finally set and disappeared.

" _Kise!_ " a harsh voice called out, bringing Takao's attention back to the field. It had come from a guy of shorter stature than Kise but who definitely got in his face like he was taller. He was obviously captain and, now that Takao thought about it, he could half-recall his name. Kasa-something.

_Oh._

Takao had been so caught up in watching the blond play that he hadn't paid any attention to the other players—he knew one of them.

" _Moriyama-kun!_ " Takao called, waving an arm in the air. He wasn't that far off but he still felt it necessary to yell like he was in a stadium. The entire team looked in his direction, save for the captain, who actually smacked Kise upside the head for getting distracted.

_Well, that was unfortunate._

Moriyama gave a tentative look over to the captain then approached Takao. The rest of the team began dispersing, heading toward the locker rooms—practice must have been done. Once he was close enough, Takao could see a slight look of uneasiness on Moriyama's face.

"Not happy to see me?" Takao smiled a little.

Moriyama took a quick look around before saying, "That's not it. It's just—"

"What, two guys can't talk after practice?"

The guy had dark hair that he kept perfectly swept to the right (though it was sticking to his forehead a bit now), narrow eyes, and was known for talking about girls  _constantly._

But yeah.

Takao had fucked him.

Moriyama had been very hands-off about the whole thing—he had no problem taking charge but would hardly ever touch Takao's dick and wouldn't even let Takao suck him off until their third hook up. Takao didn't think he was in the closet, he thought it was more likely he was just experimenting; he definitely genuinely loved women. But he didn't particularly care about the inner workings of Moriyama's sexuality—he was Takao's type and since he didn't want people to know he dabbled in men, he could be counted on not to get attached. That was what mattered.

"I didn't even know you were on the soccer team," Takao confessed.

Moriyama was clearly keeping his distance, though not in a hostile way.

"Yeah, I am. What are you doing here?"

"I—" Takao remembered that since he'd just admitted to not knowing he played soccer, he couldn't really turn his answer into a flirtation. He sulked a bit and said, "I was wandering around campus… while the weather's still nice."

"Oh, yeah. It's a good temperature for practice, too."

"Seems like it."

They both broke eye contact and silence struck them.

Awkward silence... with the sound of Kise trying to argue with his captain in the background.

 _Wow_ , Takao thought.  _So this is what zero chemistry is._  It made him laugh.

When Moriyama looked confused, he shook his head to assure him it wasn't anything he did. He tilted his head to the side.

"So are you too worn out for some  _extra_  extra-curriculars…?" One corner of his mouth lifted into a sly smile and his eyes narrowed a little.

The other boy swallowed hard enough that his Adam's apple clearly jumped.

"Uh, just let me shower. And my dorm is close to here so."

_Thank god he's so matter-of-fact about it._

Takao nodded, smiling closer to normal now. Moriyama nodded back and headed back toward the health building, walking a little faster than normal. Takao sighed and outstretched his legs, satisfied... but annoyed at the same time. He wasn't even totally sure what was annoying him, either. It was his favorite time of day, there was a light breeze, and he was gonna get laid. So what was it eating at him like this?

He thought about that and little else while he waited there. Maybe his clothes weren't fitting right. Something he'd missed in class? Did he have to take a shit?

_No, no, no.  
It's… oh._

He got it. A frown fell on his face, triggered by confusion.

_I'm thinking… I wanna hook up with someone I l… like._

"Agh, dammit." He knit his brows and passed a hand through the front of his hair. "The last thing I need is complication."

Takao typically had no problem being single. In fact he liked it. It meant his top priorities were school and sex—two things he could handle without worrying. The only time he felt that he specifically  _wanted_  to be with someone he had feelings for was when that person had already become apparent to him. But who? He didn't have anyone that kind of special here at school.

Did he?

He was wracking his brains trying to think of who it could possibly be that he was interested in when Moriyama's voice broke his thoughts.

"Uhm… let's go…" He sounded stilted and weird. Takao looked up at him. What he saw was Moriyama, looking exasperated and a little rundown. And behind him was…

"Ah… Kise, right?" Takao asked to make sure.

The blond, cheery guy stood next to Moriyama, towering over him a bit. He smiled openly and nodded.

"That's right—Kise Ryouta. I'm glad you remember me!"

"Uh… you remember  _me?_ "

Kise nodded in a way that suggested it was only natural. "Of course! We didn't talk but we were sitting kinda close."

Moriyama looked a little unnerved and asked, "Do you two know each other?"

"Yeah!"  
"Not really."

Kise turned to Takao instantly, looking hurt. "What do you mean 'not really'?!"

" _Pft._ " Takao held back a full laugh because he couldn't be sure how Kise might react to it. "I just meant that we didn't even talk that night, it was more like we just happened to be in the same room, at the same table." Kise was clearly about to protest but Takao interrupted him. "Do you even know my name, Kise-kun?" Takao smiled.

This clearly caught Kise off-guard. "Um…"

Moriyama also looked at him expectantly.

_This is too funny._

"Ta… Tada…Tada-something…"

"Ta-ka-o," Takao said, really enunciating. "Takao. Ka-zu-na-ri."

Kise blushed a little and looked kinda mad. "Ok, ok, Takao. I'm not an idiot, I just forgot!"

Takao struggled to keep in a chuckle.

 _He couldn't have forgotten since I never introduced myself the first time._   _Ah, whatever, he seems like a good guy. More importantly, why is he still hanging around?_

Takao, after hopping off of the bleachers, turned slightly to Moriyama.

"So when do we head—"

"Out? Now." He answered quickly.

' _Out'? Not 'back'?_

"Uh…"

"We're going to karaoke, remember?" Moriyama asked, sounding sour.

"A—Karaoke?"

_Whattttt, no!_

"Kise kept asking where I was headed so I told him karaoke with a friend and he insisted on… tagging along." There his face went a little pink, like he was also annoyed with himself for not having lied better or something. And Takao shared the sentiment.

_My hook up…_

He almost said 'Never mind, I'll just go home,' but then remembered he was still trying to avoid his roommate.

_Damn. Really stuck.  
Ah, well. It could be worse… at least it's karaoke._

Kise seemed to suddenly be full of a lot of energy as he suddenly shot ahead of them.

"Come on, let's go then! I haven't sung karaoke in a while!

In the brief moment Moriyama and Takao had together away from their unwelcome guest, Takao leaned in and said, lowly,

"This is all your fault."

Moriyama pulled back, shocked by the serious tone of his voice. Takao smiled, clearly kidding, and he relaxed and smiled a little, too.

Although Takao  _did_  kind of mean it.

* * *

Kazunari was annoyed again. There he'd been thinking that he'd finally gotten a smile out of Moriyama and that the two of them had bonded a little over their accidentally ruined plans.

About two-thirds of the way there, Moriyama had gotten a phone call—judging from the way he suddenly turned the charm on, it had obviously been a girl. He'd ditched the two of them with no explanation apart from 'I'm needed elsewhere', a Casanova-esque flip of the hair, and a far too enthusiastic smile. He and Kise had stood alone together, about two minutes away from the karaoke place, both gawking for a few seconds before eventually deciding to hang out without him.

"So I guess I'm kind of being forced to make a friend here…" Takao grumbled, staring out of the window they were seated next to. The two of them had somewhat awkwardly decided to forget karaoke and grab something quick to eat—they  _had_  been ditched in front of a Maji Burger.

"Yeah, it kind of is like that, isn't it?" Kise laughed a little, trying to alleviate the pressure of their weird circumstances.

Takao had only eaten half of his burger and a handful of his fries but felt full. He sucked his teeth.

"Is it that bad?" Kise asked. "Hanging out with me?"

"Huh?" Takao jumped a little, finally giving Kise his full attention. He smiled and laughed a little. "No, I just have no appetite suddenly. I always get that way when I'm lonely."

"But you're with me…" Kise said, looking slightly heartbroken.

"Ah!"  _Whoops._  "No, that's not what I meant!" He laughed, causing Kise to ease up.

"So what do you mean?"

"Mm." Takao considered bluffing but decided he liked Kise enough to just be honest. "Well, I kind of want to be with someone."

"Unrequited love? Or something?"

"Pft, it's not anything like that. I just kind of have the feeling like there's someone out there for me right now. And when I get like that, it's difficult for me to focus or eat well. I have to at least figure out who it is."

"You look pretty troubled over it."

"Really?"

Kise nodded while taking a sip of his soda. "So any idea on who the girl is?"

"No. Guy."

"Hm?" Kise stopped drinking.

"No. Guy."

" _Hm? Guy?_ " Kise asked, louder than was  _at all_  necessary.

Takao scowled a bit at Kise's reaction.  _Don't act so scandalized—I know you suck cock._  He looked away again and began drinking his soda, as well, sulking.  _I am in the worst of moods right now, god I need to get laid!_

"You're into guys, Takao?" Kise asked, not as loud but leaning in closer.

He sighed and said, "Yes."

"Wow… I didn't expect that. Though somehow it makes sense."

Takao didn't say anything.  _I wonder if he'll figure out—_

"Oh my god!" Kise covered his mouth. "So does that mean that you and  _Moriyama_  we're supposed to be on a date!?" When Takao didn't respond right away, Kise kept going. "But he's always talking about girls! Though I guess that can be kind of suspect—I'm so sorry for getting in the way!"

Kise really looked sorry. Takao cracked a smile.

"Pft, it's nothing like that. We just hook up on occasion."

"Still…"

"Don't worry about it. Ah, and don't tell anyone, ok?" Takao held his finger up to his lips and winked.

Kise smiled back, looking almost impressed.

"I won't." He leaned back in his seat again. "Wow, Takao-kun, you're really interesting."

"So, what about you?"

His eyes widened a bit. "Me?"

"Girls or boys?" Takao's eyes narrowed in contrast as he rest his face in his hand and smiled.

Kise laughed. "Oh, right. Well, to be honest, I'm not really partial to either."

 _Knew it._  Takao smiled more. "You're interesting, too, Kise-kun."

_Ah… Tell me I'm not trying to seduce this guy._

"If I was some sort of creep I'd say you almost owe me for losing Moriyama-kun tonight… Kidding."

Words spilled from Takao's lips without him meaning to.

"Though you did spoil my plans to get thoroughly fucked by a slightly repressed hetero guy."

_I'm no good when I like people.  
I'm pathetic and needy._

"If you did make it up to me..."

_I don't want to know who this person is._

"...how would you?"  
Takao was sure he saw a smile form on Kise's face.

_Maybe I can fuck these feelings out of me?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Arghghghgh, I'm not too happy with this chapter after all. I apologize, people. ;_; I'm not terribly confident I did a good job with Kise, either. (I really tried, I don't know much about Kise lol.)
> 
> I apologize that this chapter was a whole lot of poorly done descriptions. And apologize to anyone who doesn't like the idea of Takao with other Kurobas characters. (But I can't be the only who does.)


	6. Chapter 6

Takao had tried.

He hadn't tried  _that_  hard, but he had definitely put at least a modicum of effort into not flirting with Kise. But they really did get along well and he was a  _model._  He'd managed to keep his hands to himself the whole walk back to campus—it was just that the passages along the residential buildings had proven to be more tempting than not. While approaching what seemed like the 50th out of sight area at the side of a building, he'd given up and pulled Kise away.

Takao laughed softly into Kise's mouth. "You're so much taller than me."

Kise lightly laughed back. "Sorry about that."

The two had been making out for a while now—Takao was impressed by how good of a kisser Kise was. He guessed it only made sense that he had a lot of experience. The longer they stayed together in the dark, the deeper their tongues explored. He made the first venture under Kise's shirt.

"Whoa." Takao missed a beat in their kiss. "Perfect." He traced his hand along the outline of Kise's tempered abs.  _I guess this is a soccer body, huh._

Kise smiled. "Thank you."

 _He likes compliments…_  Takao smiled, thinking it was interesting. Once Kise's hand moved toward his belt, Takao broke the kiss.

"…Right here?" he asked, more than a little reluctant.

Kise looked both ways before looking back at him. "No one's coming this way."

Takao ventured further up Kise's shirt, brushing against a nipple, while thinking.

 _It's dark but it's not that late. I still saw people walking around._ The likelihood of being seen was very high.

Kise leaned in to kiss again but Takao held a finger up to his mouth, stopping him.

"We… absolutely should not."

Kise made a pitiful, pleading face. "Really?"

 _Even that face is cute._  "Well..." Takao looked around before lowering his finger and giving Kise a quick kiss. "How about this? We're right near Shuutoku anyway, aren't we?"

Kise blinked and realized that they were. "Oh yeah... I guess I got carried away since you dragged me over here." He smiled. "Let's go."

_Yes, yes, yes, getting laid, yes._

* * *

Even though they really shouldn't have been, Takao and Kise spent the rest of the walk over to Shuutoku making out heavily. The walk took extraordinarily long because they kept stopping to kiss, they stumbled over each other to get in the door, and when they finally did lay down together, Kise's weight less heavy than Takao had expected, they were both undoubtedly hard. There was something about being around Kise that made Takao think less and act a little reckless. He focused on fun more than anything else.

As the taller boy left a trail of kisses down his neck, Takao opened his eyes briefly to do a sweep of their surroundings. It was ten o'clock somehow and the lights had been off when they walked in. The lights were  _still_  off—goddamn it, he was on the couch again.

_No, this isn't happening a second time._

When Takao patted Kise on the shoulder, it was to get his attention so he could tell him they needed to move, that his room was just a few feet away. They could even do it on the floor if he couldn't hold out that much longer. Kise traced his tongue back up his neck, all the way to his ear.

"Yes?" he whispered, before biting and sucking at his earlobe.

A chill ran down his spine and Takao sighed as he grabbed the blond by the neck, kissing him hard and gasping when his tongue crept into his mouth again.

_Nope, I give up._

Since the lights were off and it was after ten, Takao rationalized that Fujioka was in bed. His light didn't shine through the cracks of his door but it still didn't mean he was asleep. This was different from last time; at least now he was certain of where Fujioka was and could gauge how much sound would cause him to wake up. This was actually  _safer_  than last time, unbelievably.

While he'd contemplated all of this, Kise had unbuckled and pulled both of their pants down to their calves—he had the fast hands of someone well-experienced in bed and Takao found himself grateful for all of the actions that had let to this hook up.

"My roommate's home so just, shh..." he whispered. Kise nodded and their pact to be discreet was set.

The common room slowly filled with the nearly inaudible sighs that accompanied the two boys rubbing their erections against one another. Takao had started the mutual jerking off but as the first drops of semen began to flow, Kise took over. He pressed his thumb into the head of Takao's dick and covered their cocks with as much pre-cum as he could. It took biting the back of his hand for Takao not to let out any moans. Kise looked at Takao's face in the dark, their eyes making contact.

"Takao-kun... you're so sexy..." he drawled, not really whispering much. He licked at Takao's neck again. "You're really enjoying yourself, aren't you?"

He didn't say anything, but did wish Kise would stop talking. When he kissed him again to shut him up, he could tell he was smiling. It was a little childish.

Kise placed both of his hands around the two of them and clasped them together tightly, forming a small gap made specifically for their pleasure. Before Kise could start moving his hands up and down again, Takao thrust upward—the head of his cock slid slickly against the head of Kise's cock.

"Yeah, do that again," Kise insisted.

Takao obliged. He didn't know about Kise, but he was really close. He felt kind of bad about coming first and relatively soon, but he decided he'd make up for it in other, even more fun ways. And that the in-between might give him an excuse to finally shift things to the bedroom instead.

"I..." He closed his eyes. "I think I'm gonna come."

"Really?" Kise began thrusting, as well, timing it after Takao's thrusts. "It's fine, you can come." He used one of his hands, still slippery, to focus on bringing Takao closer to climax. "Go ahead, Takao-kun... come..."

Their stifled voices, the deep kissing, the sloppy, wet sound of Kise's hand working his cock, Kise's hot pre-cum dripping onto and sticking to Takao's—

_Oh fuck... I'm about to... ah... do I hear keys?_

The sound in question was accompanied by the front door creaking open and a flood of light into the room.

_Keys. That was the sound of keys._

"Ah!" Takao's eyes flew open and his head turned in the direction of the door.

He and Kise were now completely bathed in light.

"Fuji-kun!" Takao muttered.

 _Fuck... is that Fujioka_ with _Inoue?_

Regardless, by the time his brain registered what he was seeing, he was already ejaculating. He closed his eyes and his neck jerked back as he clutched onto Kise shoulders, his bottom half shivering.

 _Why did I just call out his name..._ The entire room was deathly quiet and the door was still wide open with the two accidental spectators just beyond it. Takao covered his face with his hands.

"I AM SO SORRY."

It was an apology aimed at everyone.


	7. Chapter 7

"I'm thinking about coming home for the weekend, Ka-chan. Or maybe forever."

"Home? Why?" After a bit of silence, she asked, "Are you failing?"

Takao sighed at his sister Kazumi's lack of faith in him.

"I'll have you know I'm passing everything beautifully."

"Then what's the problem?" she asked, laughing a little.

"I—" Knowing instantly he couldn't tell that story, he shook his head. "Something really embarrassing happened. Really,  _really_  embarrassing."

"Did you—"

"Whatever you can think of, it's much worse," Kazunari stated.

"Oh," she replied, realizing he was serious. "Well..."

He sighed again. "I can't actually come home though—I've been procrastinating all week and have a lot of things due in on Monday and Tuesday."  _Maybe I'll just lock myself in the room with food and water._

"Just make sure when you shut yourself in your room, you stock up on supplies first. And please don't cry too loudly."

_This girl is psychic._

"Especially if you  _do_ forget food. It'd be so shameful to have an older brother die of starvation in the wake of being humiliated—"

He laughed out loud before spitting out, "Ok, ok, oh my god, Kazumi!"

He quickly stopped himself, though, hoping he wouldn't alert Fujioka to his being home. He'd avoided him quite deftly all week by leaving for morning classes around 5 am and waiting until he was out to leave for later ones.

"Well, don't let it happen, Kazunari-kun. Otherwise I'd be the one dying of embarrassment."

"Alright, I promise not to die this weekend, you selfish brat."

"It would be nice if you could come over, though... Mom still isn't over how much she was used to you being here in the summer. Dad misses you, too."

Kazunari smiled. "Winter break's not that far off so you'll be seeing me soon. And you could always visit!" He paused, and then laughed a little shakily. "Actually, now's probably not a good time for that..."

"Ha ha, you really embarrassed yourself  _that_  badly?"

"Yeah." He didn't feel like he'd ever be able to face Fujioka, Inoue, or even Kise ever again.

"It's ok, onii-san. It'll pass."

He took that cue—whenever one of them ended their sentence with a simple onii-san or onee-chan, it usually meant they had to go.

"If you say so, onee-chan. Bye."

"Bye-bye."

Takao put his phone down but then realized how dumb it had been to follow his first instinct. He'd been dying to talk about what happened Monday night all week long and yes, his little sister was his best friend in a lot of ways, but he definitely could  _only_  talk about this with someone his own age. And someone he wasn't blood-related to.

"Oh!" He suddenly knew exactly who. "I wonder if they're in the break room!"

The 'break room' Takao referred to was the recreation room in Shuutoku's A block. It was a little rundown, as the Shuutoku dorms were the oldest and least refurbished on campus, and it was technically a room reserved for upperclassmen. Student ID cards worked as keys to both of Shuutoku's buildings if you were a resident there, but the rec room only opened to Shuutoku third- and fourth-years.

The people Takao was referring to were a group of guys he'd met after begging Fujioka to take him to see the rec room, back in the first week of the school year. Miyaji Kiyoshi, Kimura Shinsuke, and Ootsubo Taisuke—they had been watching a basketball highlight reel on the room's TV when Takao joined them. They all seemed to like him and it took Takao almost no effort at all to fit in with them. When Miyaji figured out he was a sophomore, though, he'd kicked him out—it seemed he was a real stickler for rules—but Takao still met up with them on a somewhat regular basis and could always count on Kimura or Ootsubo to let him in.

Thursdays. They were always there on Thursdays.

Once he decided he'd talk to them, the next part was the most difficult.  
Getting out of there without seeing Fujioka.

He got dressed to go out, really just pulling on some jeans and a hoodie since he was basically going next door, and then held his ear against the door. He  _did_ , unfortunately, hear muffled conversation on the other side. Takao glanced at his window, considering something very stupid for a brief moment.

_No, come on. Be adult about this._

Takao left his room, the talking stopping once he closed his bedroom door and two gazes turning in his direction. Surely enough, Fujioka and Inoue were sitting in the common room... across from each other, in the armchairs. Inoue's face seemed to foul at the sight of him.

"Takao," Fujioka said softly, like he was so disappointed and—wow, he'd dropped the -san.

 _Yeah, no, fuck this—I'll be an adult later_. _  
_It was too miserable of an atmosphere. He nearly ran out the front door.

* * *

Once he got to the rec room, Takao peered in—there were about six guys in there and, luckily, three of them were exactly who he was looking for. He tapped on the glass of the door's window. The other group of guys was playing pool and didn't bother to look up; Kimura, however, was already up to open the door.

"Hi, Takao."

"Thanks for the door, Kimura," he said, flashing a smile.

"Is that Takao?" Miyaji called over.

"No!" Takao answered, before Kimura could say anything.

"Ugh."

"Hey, Takao," Ootsubo greeted, waving.

He was grateful they were all sitting—Kimura was tall, sure, but Miyaji and Ootsubo completely dwarfed Takao. A lot like someone else he'd met recently. He recalled that this was the building he lived in and wondered, for a brief second, if he ever came down to the rec room. He smiled to himself, immediately knowing the answer was a big, fat no.

The four of them talked for a while when, out of nowhere, Kimura picked up on something.

"Is something wrong, Takao?"

"Huh?"  _I didn't think I was acting off. Was I?_

"Yeah, what's up with you?" Ootsubo asked. "Something happen?"

Even Miyaji was looking at him now in a way that clearly showed he was thinking the same thing.

_What?_

"Um..." Takao fiddled with his fingers, forcing a small smile. "Actually I did want to talk to you all about something."

Miyaji sighed a little, like 'come on, spit it out.'

He spun the proper way to tell this story around in his head for a few seconds before speaking.

"Well, first off, I'm gay."

The room had just gone quiet in that way it only does when you're saying something private; the pool players had definitely heard. Pretty much immediately, Takao could feel three pairs of eyes all fixated on his back. Even without the sound of their footsteps, he could feel that they were leaving the room. He rolled his eyes, refocusing on his friends—

 _What's with their fa— Are they worried about my reaction to those guys?  
_ He almost laughed. Not at them but at the mere notion of him being affected by petty homophobia. Otherwise, Takao found himself genuinely touched by their seeming concern. The door closed and it was like their reactions were taken off of pause.

Ootsubo kinda smiled at him and said, "That doesn't surprise me much."

Miyaji responded to Ootsubo with "Really?"

Kimura scratched his chin and said, "Actually, I'd heard rumors."

"Rumors?" Takao felt a jolt of excitement at the idea. "What kind of rumors?"

Kimura shrugged. "Just 'there's a gay kid living in block B.'"

"That's it?" Takao frowned, disappointed.  _That's so boring..._ "Anyway, I didn't think I was obvious or anything. Ah—the rumor might get more specific now."

"We've got your back," Ootsubo said, almost instantly. Takao, unsurprisingly, laughed.

"Pft—I'll be fine! This isn't even what I wanted to talk about."

"Oh," they all said, simultaneously.

"Yeah, that's not particularly a secret for me," he said, chuckling.

"Well what is it then?" Miyaji said, sighing.

"Um... My roommate walked in on me," Takao finally said, face quickly gone red.

"Again, Takao-kun?" Ootsubo said, clearly pitying him.

"Yes..."

"Wait, so doesn't this mean the first time you were with a guy?" Kimura pointed out.

Takao nodded, not particularly keen on revisiting that incident, too. He almost continued but there seemed to be an expectant silence hanging in the air. Takao looked at all of their faces—Miyaji was literally leaning in. He sighed and rolled his eyes again.

"Ugh, fine,  _I_  was the bottom!"

"I-I wasn't wondering." "Ew, really!?" "That makes sense."  
said Kimura, Miyaji, and Ootsubo, who smiled in a self-satisfied way.

" _Anyway_ ," Takao continued, electing not to scold or correct them for the sake of getting this story over with. "I did that stupid thing again where I was messing around in the living room instead of going to my room."

"Were you drunk again?" asked Ootsubo.

"No, totally sober. I just thought he was asleep in the other room since it was late and he's a premed student—he's  _never_ been out at that time before!" Takao pushed his hair back, totally flustered. "We weren't having sex but we were doing... something. And then the door flew open—"

"The front door?" Miyaji checked.

"The  _main_  door flew open  _right before_ I came and I—"  
 _...Not positive it's necessary to include the part where I said his name in surprise.  
_ "Um, basically, it was really obvious what was happening. I was... loud about it."

"Oh, boy..." Ootsubo commented.

"He wasn't alone." Takao's hands crept up to cover his face, deepening in hue. "He was with his girlfriend."

Kimura grunted sympathetically.

Just a simple, "Oh, no..." from Miyaji.

"I ran into them when I left to come here, I've been avoiding them all week—they wouldn't sit on the couch."

"Well not if you got your jizz all over it," Miyaji said, abruptly and clearly disapproving.

"But I didn't! I, like,  _triple-checked_ after the guy left! Which—"  _Ugh._  "I have to avoid him and everyone he knows like the plague now.

"Do we know him?" Ootsubo asked.

"Um, you probably know of him, but I'm not saying." Takao waved his hand, dismissing the idea totally. "He doesn't live here, either."

"Oh, so he's in the closet?" Kimura proposed.

"No, he—"

"I doubt someone in the closet would try to have sex with a guy in the middle of a  _shared room_  like a  _pervert_ ," Miyaji said, glaring at Takao.

"Ok, ok! I feel bad enough..." Takao whined, honestly feeling like he might tear up from the embarrassment.

"It's ok, man," Kimura said, patting his back.

"It'll be fine," Ootsubo echoed, placing a hand firmly on his shoulder.

"Oh, come on!" Miyaji yelled. "Quit treating him like a kid! He did something stupid, so he got busted and humiliated—suck it up and apologize to that poor guy  _and_  his girlfriend!"

Takao knew he was right, not even that deep down; he'd been thinking that same thing all week. But the same part of him that went out of his way to avoid facing his roommate was the same part of him that took comfort in being babied by Ootsubo and Kimura.

That side won out.

"Miyaji-san..." he whined, pathetically—fully aware it would get the other two even more firmly on his side.

The two of them turned and glared at Miyaji, unconvinced.

It was very,  _very_  difficult for Takao to keep himself from laughing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (I am dying to know if I got the Shuutoku guys alright.)


	8. Chapter 8

For the first time in a while, Takao didn't come back home super late or super early, because now... well now he wasn't avoiding Fujioka. It was a few minutes after 9 pm when he got back to his dorm.

Inoue was still there, surprisingly, though they weren't sitting down any more—now they were in the kitchen. Well, to call it a kitchen was generous. It was a small area right next to the front door and the only thing that made it a 'kitchen' by any definition was the presence of a small refrigerator and the two counters. One was an island and the other, against the wall, housed a somewhat large sink. Most rooms in Shuutoku didn't have this set up, especially not the rooms in block B. It wasn't impressive, but there was room for a microwave and a small coffee maker, so it was enough for two boys in their early twenties.

On the counter now, though, there was a hot plate—and a really nice one, at that. Takao took notice of it almost before he noticed Fujioka and the girl he appeared to be making steady progress with washing the dishes. The room smelled a bit like food so it was evident she'd cooked for him or something like that.

_At least my timing was good enough to get here when dinner was done._

"Hi, Takao," Fujioka said, quickly, focusing on scrubbing a pan. There were burnt remnants of something on it, indicating that someone clearly wasn't  _that_ talented of a cook. He smiled subconsciously, thinking it was cute that Inoue would try anyway. She was really, very pretty (probably too pretty for Fujioka, Takao sometimes thought) and had long hair and bangs that made her look even more housewife-y looking it was funny that she didn't fit the role as well as she looked it. Takao casually glanced over at her and—was a bit surprised.

It looked like she was glaring at him.  
Or maybe she wasn't...  
 _No, she is definitely glaring at me. What the hell did I—oh yeah._

Takao sighed and walked over to the opposite end of the island. Inoue's eyes followed his every move.

"Fujioka-kun, can we talk?" he asked. He rest his arms on the counter, hoping this wouldn't be too painful for everyone involved.

"Ah." Fujioka turned off the sink and almost wiped his hands on his pants. Inoue swiftly handed him a small towel, from seemingly nowhere. All this without taking her mean stare off of Takao. "Yeah, we should."

The girl crossed her arms.

"Umm..." Takao had thought over what he had to say on the walk over but still struggled to get things in the right order. "I..." He sighed, shoulders slumping, and then looked Fujioka in the eyes. "I'm really, really sorry about Monday. I wasn't thinking straight—actually, that doesn't matter. Even if you're not gonna be home, I shouldn't do that type of stuff in the main room. It's weird and unsanitary and.. like... straight up disrespectful." His eyes shied away at that part and he felt his face flush a little. " _Really_  disrespectful. To you, too, Inoue-san."

Inoue didn't soften up one bit, her mouth totally stuck in a frown.

"Anyway," Takao continued, looking at Fujioka again. "It was really not cool of me, especially after it happened once, and I owe you again. Like, big time."

Inoue sighed, looking impatient and unconvinced with the apology. She also really looked like she wanted to say something, but luckily Fujioka spoke first.

_Oh, he's actually smiling a little._

"It.. It's ok, Takao. Just... never again." He let out a small laugh. "For real this time."

"Thank  _god!_ " Takao sighed out, nearly yelling. His whole body slumped forward and over the counter. "I thought I was gonna  _die this week!_ Avoiding you is too much work, Fujioka, really."

Fujioka smiled. Inoue looked over at him and seemingly loosened her arms at the sight of his smiling. Her frown turned into a simple pout, too, and she just looked off to the side, still annoyed.

_Damn, I have to think fast. Things are probably fine for now but unhappy girlfriends have a skill for causing trouble..._

"Is there anything I can do..? As a favor?" He didn't have any ideas. "To help make up for it or—"

"Um... I can't think of anything." "Well, you could replace the couch..."  
Fujioka and Inoue spoke at the same time. Although, it sounded like Inoue had mumbled something else at the end of her sentence—but what Takao  _thought_  he heard had to be wrong.

_I could_ swear _I just heard her say 'the couch that you nutted on.'  
_ Though it was a delayed reaction, he had to restrain from letting out a signature  _pft_ , just at the mere idea of her saying something that vulgar. He almost wished she  _had_  said it.

"Inoue-san, I think that's asking a bit much..." Fujioka said, genuinely sounding bothered by the idea.

"Do you think so?" she asked. "He wants to do a favor to make up for what happened... I can't think of anything else." She turned to face Takao again. "Can you?"

It was actually his first time really hearing her speak—her super feminine voice did a really good job of masking her surly attitude.

_Damn. She really has it out for me._

Takao smiled politely, having already stood straight up again, and admitted, "No, not really."

_This actually_ is _kind of perfect. It's a little too much for Fujioka so it'll be more than enough to make up for it and it was her idea so she'll feel like she won._ He smiled at her again, really turning the charm on now.

"Actually, it's a great idea, Inoue-san." Then, turning to Fujioka, he said, "That's exactly what I'll do, man. Sorry again."

"That's really..." Fujioka glanced at the girl and her firm look swayed him. "Ok. But is getting rid of the dorm's couch even allowed..?"

Inoue, with her arms finally at her sides and a small smile on her face, said, "Actually, Shuutoku has a policy that allows replacement of shared furniture as long as the replacement is of equal or higher value. I assume it must be left behind, as well."

"Huh," Takao said. It actually did make sense—there's was the oldest dorm after all. The school didn't pour much money into making Shuutoku extra appealing, that was for sure. He smiled. "Then that's what I'll do."

_How hard has she been thinking about this, though?_

He wasn't  _that_ excited, of course. There wouldn't be any fun in having to beg his dad to send money and he'd have to come up with an excuse as for why. And on top of that, Shuutoku was all the way in the back of the residential areas—how the fuck was he supposed to get the old couch out or the new one in? Actually...

The more he thought about it the more of a pain it turned out it was. He looked over at Inoue who was now openly offering him a smile. She was even rocking back and forth on her heels a little.

_Shit, she really did win._

"Inoue-san, I'm curious—what dormitories do you live in?" he asked, speaking carefully with her.

"Rakuzan."

"Ah—that kind of makes sense. You give off that important air," he complimented, smiling softly.

_Ugh, that makes so much sense. Here I was thinking if Fujioka likes her, she must be simple and sweet..._

Rakuzan was the campus's most expensive dormitory—actually, to call it a dormitory was incorrect. They were student apartments and known for being luxurious. It consisted of two blocks (divided by sex) and although the buildings were located far across from each other, they were by far the closest residencies to the academic buildings and the two nicest dining halls.  
It was strictly for rich kids—not even geniuses on scholarship lived in Rakuzan.

Her smile made him want to stick his tongue out at her.

Sighing internally, he realized he'd have to ask Kimura for a favor.

* * *

Midorima woke up after the first buzz of his alarm clock. He emptied his bladder, washed his face, and then brushed his teeth. He changed into his running clothes, stretched, but before leaving the building, he got online briefly to check his student email and his horoscope. It was time for his morning run.

Most of his weekday mornings went more or less exactly this way. And when he would get back, he would shower, get dressed, and then go to class. The part that was never any different were his short online activities, specifically his near-obsession with zodiac rankings. It wasn't necessarily that Midorima was addicted to routine—it was more accurate to say that once he figured out the  _best_  way of doing something, he saw no reason to change it.

What  _was_ different this morning, though, was the route he would take during his run.

In the four classes he had that day, he had two tests and was scheduled to take part in an intense lab (one that could put him in his professor's favor if he did well). He usually took the nearest exit off of campus and did something around 4 miles—2 miles out into the area that surrounded his large university and 2 miles back to campus. On days where he had important—hell, sometimes potentially life-changing (he thought, anyway)—events, the route was adjusted so that he ran through campus and along the stores right next to the dorms. The run was also hugely shortened so he could conserve energy for the day ahead. He made this adjustment so that he could stop by a small general store. For the times when he didn't already have Oha Asa's lucky item of the day.

He always made sure to have it on days when Cancer ranked low, sure. However, if something important was happening, it didn't matter if his ranking was spectacularly high or abysmal—he would definitely have the day's lucky item.

Definitely.

Even if the item was something obscure or hard to get to before his school day started, which was almost always early in the morning, somehow he would always walk in with it on his person.

Sometimes lucky items were pens, watches, a baseball card—small trinkets and novelties. But occasionally, they were things like lunchboxes or stuffed animals—and over the years, Shintarou had gathered a number of particular favorite items for days that called for the more unwieldy charms. It had garnered him a bit of a reputation on campus in his first year but really... if he hadn't cared in during his pubescent years, how could he possibly care now?

He didn't  _always_  have a lucky item, though. When he'd been in high school, he'd been more anal about it, possibly bordering on obsessive. Now, though, with his academic schedule and the change of environment... it was strange but it was like something about being busy pushed the importance of the lucky items to the side. As a teenager, the busier he got, the more he insisted on having them but—he wasn't sure why college was different.

_Maybe because this is the real world?_  
This thought crossed his mind as he paid for the day's lucky item and sighed, exasperated. Each time he came to this store, he had seen this thing sitting behind the counter and hoped he would never have to lug it around school... So of course it was perfectly fitting that today he was buying it.

_This is exactly the kind of item I can't take around with me once I start basic medicine next year._

Today's lucky item was a rather large stuffed rabbit, something Midorima didn't have with him at school. The bunny was larger than he would have liked to purchase, but he chose convenience over preference. He sighed again once the rabbit was handed over to him—the woman who worked there early in the morning was familiar with his habits so didn't offer to bag it.

"...I guess you'll do."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not good at describing physical settings so if you find this fictional college campus at all confusing, I've made an itty bitty map that you can find on my Tumblr if you are interested—
> 
> http://dontcallmekoko.tumblr.com/qstns


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This might get spotty towards the end. I've messed with this chap for days now, so I sincerely hope not.

Finally it was 4:00—Midorima was off the hook for the rest of day. His lucky item had, as expected, gained him some questionable looks and more than a few of his classmates had insisted on asking what the giant orange bunny was about. All in all, though, a few obnoxious glances and annoying questions couldn't ruin his day—huh. That was funny.

For a second, Midorima thought he would have to get his prescription checked. But as he got closer, he confirmed that he wasn't imagining things: there was a two-seater couch in the middle of campus.

Well to say it was in the middle of campus wasn't totally right. There was a distinct separation between the academic and residential portions of the university grounds and it was sitting on the curb right at the security outpost and gates for the dorms. It wasn't a lone couch, though—whomever it belonged to was sitting on it. He thought it was odd but it certainly wasn't the strangest thing he'd seen on a college campus.

Just as he decided he would try to avoid whoever the weirdo on the couch was, though, he was close enough to recognize him.

Fujioka's roommate. The guy from the goukon. The boy who had grabbed his hand.

Takao, who had been on his phone, texting furiously, suddenly looked up, like he sensed someone was looking at him. Midorima stopped directly in front of the couch, rabbit clenched firmly.

"What the hell are you doing here?" "What the hell is  _that_  thing?"  
" _Pfft_ —" Takao began laughing.

Midorima frowned and wondered why he had even stopped to ask this idiot anything at all.  
 _He's seriously so noisy._

"Really, what is that? A gift from a girl or something?" It was obvious Takao was trying to keep more laughter in; he wasn't even trying to hide it. "I have to say, I don't really get her taste, Shin-chan."

Midorima sighed, irritated with how quickly the other boy had cracked up, with how quickly he'd allowed himself to be annoyed, and by the use of that stupid name again. "It's Cancer's lucky item for today. And I told you not to call me that."

"Cancer's what…?" Takao half-asked—he trailed off at the end, distracted by his phone chiming.

As he read the text, Midorima began to lift a foot and continue on his way, but didn't get it completely off of the ground before Takao let out a loud, heavy sigh.

"This week is seriously the worst…" He threw his phone off to the side and buried his face in his hands. "I don't know where all this bad luck is coming from…"

Midorima, out of habit, wondered what his sign was, but restrained himself from asking. He started to move his leg again—

"I'm trying to get this stupid couch back to Shuutoku but the security guy wouldn't let the mover's truck through to the residential side—some stupid shit about it not being delivery or something." Takao wiped his face up and down, almost as if to wipe the stress away. He then ran a hand through his hair. The serious look on his face was surprising to Midorima.

If he was understanding the explanation properly, security probably wouldn't let the truck through because it wasn't approved. Approved vehicles would probably be family vehicles or delivery services of some kind. It made sense that they wouldn't let a local mover's truck in, but only by technical standards—it seemed a little petty to not let them in so Takao's frustration wasn't totally unjustified.

"Why not call whoever brought it here and have them take it back around campus?" Midorima was referring to the smaller entrances that were located at the back of campus and led directly off campus.

"He was on the clock and bringing it out here in the first place was already a favor." He shook his head. "I couldn't ask him to stay, that wouldn't have been right."

 _I suppose that's true_ , Midorima thought, also thinking he wouldn't have hesitated to have the driver take him the other way around.

"I have a friend with a truck that helped me this morning... but he's just said no."

"No?"

Takao nodded at his phone which was very close to sliding off of the couch because of how he'd thrown it.

"'Just no' is exactly what the message says." He stared at it for a moment more before using his finger to give it a small push. The phone clattered against the pavement.

"There's no use taking things out on inanimate objects."

"I know but... stupid Kimura…" Then he mumbled, "This is all my own stupid fault anyway."

Shintarou nearly started walking again, feeling like he had gotten everything he could have out of their interaction, but glanced at Takao's face a last time. He was looking off to the side with his chin resting on his fist. His expression seemed genuinely concerned… and definitely frustrated. His initial assumption, after hearing his problem, was that he was sitting around whining, which he  _was_ , but—it was strange. Now that he was looking at him, he just looked like he was thinking. Intensely. Definitely trying to do something about it but sitting around and acting casual at the same time. His eyes were sharp—like that time after he'd introduced himself.

Why Midorima remembered that look so clearly, he couldn't begin to guess.

He let out a small breath, giving in.

"You could carry it from here."

"Huh?" Takao snapped out of a daze of sorts, looking up at him with a confused face. He shook his head. "It's not heavy but it's not  _that_ light. Plus finding the right way to hold it—I couldn't do that on my own." He glanced at his phone again, almost like he was wondering what it was doing down there.

"I'm supposed to tutor Fujioka this evening. The time it would take to get this back to the dorm would likely coincide with the time we agreed upon."

"Wait." The boy jumped up from his seat. "Are you saying you'll  _help me_  take this back?"

"We live in the same direction anyway." Midorima crossed his arms, unintentionally positioning the bunny in a choke hold of sorts.

Takao's eyes widened. " _Really?_ " He then broke out into a wide smile, his eyes instantly lighting up. Grabbing Midorima by both arms, he said, "You're the best, Shin-chan!"

"I—"  _Why is he smiling so much?_  Midorima looked away, overwhelmed by his response.  _He's totally overreacting._  "It's nothing. Let's go."

Takao nodded fervently and hurried to pick up his phone and roll up his sleeves. "Um." He looked at the choking bunny.

Taking his cue, Midorima placed the bunny, sitting upright, on the couch.  
"Don't drop him," he added, as an afterthought.

"'Him'?" Takao asked, smile persisting.

He adjusted his glasses. "Just don't drop him."

" _Pft._ "

Midorima was about to give him a dirty look before he then heard him say, "I wouldn't dream of it."

"Why do you need a new couch anyway?" he asked.

"You don't wanna know," Takao answered.

_More like you don't want to tell me._

* * *

Although Shuutoku was located toward the back of campus, it wasn't that far of a walk from the gate—if it were, that would defeat the purpose of on-campus housing. Despite it not being far, though, the two of them still took almost 30 minutes to get to Takao's building.

It wasn't that Takao was slow or weak, like Midorima had initially feared. In fact, he was surprisingly strong and didn't seem to struggle in carrying his side at all. It was more like their vast difference in height was making wielding the couch problematic and this slowed them down as a result.

In other words, they were forced to talk to each other.

Luckily for Midorima, who was unpracticed and uncomfortable in the ways of making pleasant small talk, Takao was a natural leader of conversation. Actually, Midorima realized after a while that this was the most he'd spoken to someone all week. Maybe even since school had started. Takao did a lot of joking around, a lot of laughing, especially when Midorima hadn't said anything particularly funny.

And he was persistent with that 'Shin-chan, Shin-chan'—he'd thought it had been a joke the first few times he used it but hearing it over and over again, and coming so naturally from him, made it abundantly clear that this was the inappropriately cute nickname he was stuck with. It annoyed him but... he dealt with it. What was more annoying was how slow their walking was.

_At this rate, it may be faster if he just sat on the couch and I carried both of them._   
_—I mean._

Shintarou had managed to make himself blush at the sheer stupidity and impossibility of the last thought, wondering why the hell something like that had come to mind. He was also immediately thankful the idiot didn't see his face right then. God only knows what he would say if he saw him blushing for no apparent reason.

* * *

Takao sighed. The new couch was finally indoors and positioned exactly where the old one had been.

"To be honest, that wasn't as bad as I thought it might be," he said, stretching his arms.

"You yourself said it wasn't heavy," Midorima commented. He let out a breath, too, before sitting next to Usa-san.

"Ha ha, no, I mean carrying it with  _you_ ," he said, smiling at him. "I wasn't sure we'd have anything to talk about."

"Oh."

"It turns out you're really fun to talk to, though, Shin-chan. I knew I liked you."

 _What the hell does that mean?_  he thought as Takao buzzed over to the kitchen and turned on the sink. It wasn't that Midorima didn't trust him—he seemed like an honest guy and he, too, felt he was much easier to talk to than he'd expected. There was still something about him—or being around him—though, that made him feel unsettled. Restless.

"Do you want water?" he called out from behind the refrigerator. Midorima almost answered but saw there were already two full glasses on the counter. The refrigerator door slammed shut and Takao walked over to the table with both glasses in hand but nothing from the fridge. Maybe part of the restlessness was the fact that Takao hadn't stopped moving once since they'd gotten back.

"Here. Thank you for your hard work." He held a glass out to him.

"It was nothing," he said, taking it.

" _Pft_ , it definitely was, though—you didn't have to help me. I appreciate it." Takao sat his own glass down. "Really."

Midorima stayed silent, ever stubborn, and when he took his first drink, he nearly choked.

For some reason Takao was pulling his shirt off.

"What are you doing?"

"Hm?" He was still pulling the t-shirt over his head. "I sweat kinda easily; I need to get out of this thing." It was completely off now and he finally grabbed his water. "I've also been running around with this dumb couch all day."

Midorima sighed in discontent and looked away. There was that restless feeling again that made sharing a room with him so difficult. His eyes did wander back, though, and he took notice of Takao's skin, first. He was a light tan all over; interesting considering summer had been over for several months. The casual way he was dressed sort of hid what Midorima found to be a surprisingly fit body. His arms, shoulders, and abdomen were all fairly toned; just toned enough to make Midorima wonder if he worked out. He instantly dismissed the idea; he was somehow completely confident this guy spent most of his free time either goofing off with friends or staying in.

 _He must have been dehydrated._ He hadn't taken a single break from drinking and would slightly tilt his head back more with every gulp. Without meaning to, or even realizing, Midorima was watching each way his body moved. The bobbing of his Adam's apple, the slight swells of his stomach that accompanied each swallow. A stream of water escaped the glass and trickled out from the corner of his mouth, to his jaw, and down his neck. It ran down his chest, losing momentum as it traced along his midriff before finally reaching its end and leaving the tiniest stain on the band of Takao's boxers. It took a second to register as such, but Midorima felt as if he'd just seen something terribly explicit.

Yet even though he felt that way, he couldn't tear his eyes off of him. Not even when Takao let out a refreshed sigh and looked straight at him.

Midorima turned, his eyes darting quickly away. "Put a shirt on."

* * *

Takao was now wearing a clean shirt and he finally felt normal again thanks to the water... but his heart was anything but.

_He was watching me just then.  
He was checking me out that whole time._

He gulped, suddenly feeling like maybe he needed water again. Takao was no stranger to being checked out. Girls, guys—regardless of who was doing the ogling, he was accustomed enough to it that he recognized it.

So there was no way he was mistaking it, right?  
Yeah, Midorima's eyes had been intently on him while he drank.

That wasn't the reason his heart was pounding, though.

The pounding was due to the scary realization that he had found him. This had to be him.

A medical student of all people.  _Midorima_  of all people. The whole time in the den and even on the walk back, the air had been charged. He'd sensed it but hadn't realized what it was until now.

Chemistry. The friction of chemistry and the magnetic pull of attraction.

Takao closed his eyes hard; he was more than a little upset with himself.

 _Not a straight guy. Please not another straight guy._  
No amount of mental chanting and wishing otherwise would do a thing, though. He knew it now—the person he was interested in was Midorima Shintarou.

He'd known when he finished his water and saw he wasn't imagining the feeling of being watched. And he'd especially known after Midorima looked off to the side and mumbled for him to put a shirt on.

There were other things.

How he'd offered to help him out of the blue and with, really, nothing to gain from it. The way he refused to say you're welcome but also refused to say thank you—tsundere. That was the right word—a total tsundere.

And though he was sure it put other people off, he liked how standoffish he acted, a strange mix of defense and offense. And if he could go a whole conversation without cracking a single smile but still help someone without being asked, it meant there was something else there. Probably several somethings past the less than nice attitude he displayed.

_There's something else, though, there has to be. I don't get it—but there's something even more basic than all of that._

_I really wanna know more about him... damn._

He knocked himself in the head, kind of like he was trying to shake the thoughts away, and finally exited his bedroom.

He headed straight to the fridge again, now very conscious of Midorima's presence. He couldn't be near him, couldn't talk to him, and _definitely_  couldn't look into his eyes, or at his fingers, or his broad shoulders, either.

 _Seriously, how does someone like him carry around a stuffed animal with a serious look on his face?_  He looked over at Midorima. As if on cue, he was adjusting Usa-san's sitting position, like he was trying to make the doll more comfortable.

_Are you freaking kidding me!? He's seriously adorable...!_

Takao needed to do something, anything at this point—he just couldn't let his eyes wander because they would inevitably settle on the guy and his toy rabbit.

 _Uh..._  He'd opened the fridge while on auto-pilot and just now noticed he was standing in front of it.  _Right, I'll keep my hands busy._ Takao made a mental note to do  _something_  about the pathetically empty state the refrigerator was in before shutting its door, disappointed.

 _But he's so uptight_ , he went back to thinking.

Takao was flat out staring and had to stop himself, so he went back to looking in the fridge.

 _He's not even my type._   _I mean, I guess I like how tall he is._  
Now he was just staring blankly into the empty box. He sighed and slammed the fridge shut again, opting to cut an apple.

With the fruit in front of him and a paring knife in hand, he managed to keep his eyes off of him but his mind was hardly concentrating. His thoughts felt scattered and it wasn't long before he wasn't focusing on cutting an apple so much as he was trying to focus on the simple action of  _not looking over at Midorima._

 _He's reading_ , he noticed, looking up. He looked down at the counter again but, almost instantly, his eyes flitted back up.

 _Is he studying? No, that looks like a normal book._  
Looked down.  
 _I wonder what he's reading._  
Looked up.  
 _Should I ask? No, I should just leave it._  
Down.

 _It makes sense he'd be into reading._  
Up.  
 _He holds that book really gently. And doesn't take his glasses off even with the book that close._  
Down.  
 _I wonder how bad his eyesight is...  
_ Up.  
 _His eyes are kind of pretty now that I think of it. Ugh, no, I can't think like that!_  
Down... and then he glanced up again.

_…But really, the face he made when he looked away—ow._

Takao's attention was finally called away by a small but undoubtedly sharp pain in his left index finger.

"Shit," he mumbled and winced a little. A thin line of red appeared on his finger.

 _Well, it doesn't look bad._  His bad habit of experimenting with injuries surfaced and he lightly squeezed the area around the cut. A small droplet of blood welled up.

_Yeah, it's not that much. I'll just—_

The drop of blood was now a small pool.  _That's a little more than expect—_

The circle's surface broke and a drop of red fell to the counter, heavy enough that it made an audible  _splat_  sound.

"Uh…" Takao placed the knife on the counter.  _Shit._ "Um!"

On the brink of panicking, he looked up and at Midorima.

"Shin-chan, um…" he said, wanting to sound calm but also not sure he'd been loud enough for him to hear.

Midorima looked up from his book, seemingly already irritated. "I told you..."

"Bleeding."

"...not to call me—What?"

"Bleeding. I'm bleeding. A lot." Takao smiled—even  _he_ wasn't sure why.

"Bleeding? Are you serious?"

Takao nodded, turning his attention back to his finger. It still hadn't stopped. He knew it probably wasn't as bad as it looked. He knew he could probably take care of it himself (like most people, he had a first aid kit). He knew there were a number of things he could be doing right now other than just staring at his cut finger like he was a helpless child but for some reason, the first thing—the only thing, really—he thought to do was call out to Midorima and hope and wait for him to help.

Because he was a medical student...? Maybe?  
What a stupid train of thought that was...

Just as he resolved himself to stop being inactive and run some water over his finger (or something), he nearly walked into the broad chest of—huh. Shin-chan. Takao looked up at him—and that was the moment he finally got a true understanding of how big their difference in height was—and felt a breath catch in his throat. He just prayed he wasn't making a weird face. Or blushing.

_Oh god, please don't let me blush._

"Let me see it," Midorima demanded, his voice low and calm.

"Oh, uh." Takao was now feeling the full weight of how dumb it had been to just stand there with a bleeding finger. He held it out, timidly. "There's a first aid kit under my bed..." he added, mumbling.

Midorima looked at him for a second, his eyes a little mean, and Takao knew he was thinking, 'Why didn't you do anything?' Feeling embarrassed and increasingly uncomfortable with the situation, Takao just looked away.

He felt Midorima grab his hand and bring it closer to him but resisted the urge to watch. It was when he felt a tug, obviously in the direction of the sink, that he finally looked, just watching his hand. His hand being handled by Midorima's.

This was all terribly embarrassing.  
 _My heart's going crazy, this completely sucks._  
For a short moment, Takao imagined that if his heart kept beating as fast and hard as it currently was, it might cause blood to spurt out of his cut like in a bad horror movie. The idea of it almost made him crack a smile but something else suddenly struck him and he couldn't keep his mouth from moving.

"How do you have all of this stuff out already?"

There was an open first aid kit sitting on the counter and Midorima was already applying hydrogen peroxide to the cut.

"I'm a medical student. I always keep a kit like this with me."

"I get that you're a medical student, but I'm sure even Fujioka doesn't walk around with that in his bag all time..."

"Hmph." Midorima had already moved on to applying some sort of cream that must be made for cuts. "Since we're pointing out abnormal behavior, I suppose it's fine that I point out most people don't stand around getting blood on everything after they cut themselves."

"I—" Takao started, looking up at Midorima's face. Takao considered saying something back but couldn't find words.

_His eyelashes._

There was the sticky, adhesive feeling of a bandage being wrapped around his finger.

_No, his eyes._

Takao fell totally silent. Resisted the urge to bite his bottom lip in wonder.

_Yeah... this is the person._


	10. Chapter 10

"It's not deep enough to be a real worry but you should expect your finger to be sore for a few days." Midorima's brow knitted—he wasn't happy with the way he'd wrapped the bandage. He tsk-ed and unwrapped it, taking care not to pull in a way that may agitate the wound. He threw the bandage away.

"Th-thank you," Takao muttered. Shintarou wondered if his eyes were deceiving him—it looked like Takao was blushing.

"It's nothing," Midorima said, almost sighing as he tried not to sound like a scolding father. Something in Takao's face made him feel like he might be being overly critical. "Pay more attention."

"I always pay attention…" Takao mumbled. Midorima bit his tongue and refrained from pointing out that he clearly didn't  _always_  pay attention.

"Does it hurt?" he asked.

Takao shook his head no. Midorima began to apply the second bandage. Already he knew this one was wrapped better.

"Is that too tight?"

Takao shook his head no again.

 _He's surprisingly quiet right now._  Midorima found it strangely funny and a small smile formed on his face.

"…Why are you smiling?" Takao asked. The boy sounded weird. A little tense or something.

"It's nothing," Midorima replied, doing nothing to wipe the smile from his face.

_Is it making him uneasy?_

"...You're creeping me out."

_It is._

"Is something funny about me being sliced open?"

"Don't be so dramatic, the cut isn't nearly that bad."

Takao loosened up a bit. "Sorry. Thank you." There was a pause before he said, "I've just never seen you smile."

Midorima looked up from Takao's hand at that statement. His face wasn't beet red and he didn't look mad or panicked. He kind of looked at ease. His cheeks were a little flushed and he was smiling a little. Shintarou let go of his hand. Now that he was letting it go, he realized just how long he'd been holding it for.

"It's finished."

Takao nodded and looked at his bandaged finger, turning it over. "You did that really quickly. You looked professional or something.

Midorima adjusted his glasses. "Of course I did."

" _Pft._ " Takao laughed at this response and looked up at him again. For some reason, Midorima thought he felt his pulse speed up a bit. The smile that came with that laugh was different from the ones he'd seen until then. It was softer, his eyes seemed to smile, too, and, for once, he didn't look like he was being even slightly mocking.

 _He's good-looking._  
Wait.  
Midorima felt himself blushing and looked away.  _…Whatever._

This was now the second time he'd caught himself thinking something weird like that about this guy. It was a flat sentiment but he knew that if he'd thought it, he meant it. And he  _was_  good-looking. Right? He was arguably handsome, by most people's standards. Acknowledging someone's physical attractiveness wasn't something that would necessarily drive someone to embarrassment but the more he tried to justify the thought, the hotter he felt his face get. And the recurring sentence running through his head was:

_He's good-looking._  
_He's good-looking.  
_ _He's seriously good-looking._

It was those eyes. It had to be.

"Hey, Shin-chan."

"I've told you not to call me that."

"Do you wanna know why I was distracted?"

"Not particularly," he said, knowing that being dismissive was his only ticket back to his seat.  
He may even pack up and leave. There was a strange feeling like suffocation creeping in on him.

"Hey…" Takao called, really quietly.

Midorima felt a tug at the neck of his shirt that managed to surprise him enough to pull him down. When he looked, ready to tell Takao off for—ugh, for doing  _whatever_  he was doing, what he saw effectively left him speechless.

Takao's face right in front of his. His eyelids hung a little heavily but his sharp eyes looked directly at him—hell, directly  _through_ him—all at once. And...

And his lips... were slightly parted.

Midorima instinctively jerked back, totally surprised and, honestly, a bit afraid.

_Afraid of Takao?_

No, just… afraid of what had almost happened. No, it was no good to carried away—afraid of what it  _looked_  like was going to happen.

Midorima's reaction may have warded off someone else but not Takao. The look in his eyes said he was on a mission and he simply tugged at Midorima's shirt a second time.

The tug this time was different.  
The first tug had been a strong one that actually managed to pull him down but this one was light, clearly not meant to move him. In other words:

The first pull was to get his attention; this one was a dare.

Midorima's pulse wasn't just up, he could clearly hear his heart racing in his own ears. This was out of nowhere. Wasn't it? He actively considered leaving Takao like that. He could scoff, saying something cold, and go home. It would be fitting and serve as a sort of punishment for being... for being so presumptuous. For being overly familiar. For being crass, noisy, invasive—for all of the laughing.

But most  _especially_  for being so fucking confusing.

He almost rejected him out of pure spite. That would have been the end of it.

...

Instead of any of that, though, Midorima leaned in. He felt like time was moving impossibly slow as he made the conscious effort to close their height gap. As Takao's face came closer to his, he resigned that this was what he was going to do. He licked his bottom lip and closed his eyes.

_Damn.  
There... there's no going back after this._

Their lips met, the sensation warm and incredibly soft. The first kiss was short—Takao let go of Midorima's shirt and the taller boy pulled back a little. The sound of their lips separating was quiet but clearly audible; it echoed in Midorima's ears.

 _We just… kissed._   _I just kissed him._  
He was still processing what had just happened but a part of him was deeply grateful his glasses hadn't slid down or otherwise embarrassed him.

Takao's expression was largely the same as it had been before they kissed, except now he was even  _less_  red in the face—a complete contrast to Midorima who was painfully aware of how hard he was blushing. It had to be all the way up to his ears. Takao's lack of a reaction threw him into a panic.

_Shit._  
_Did I misinterpret that? _Was that a joke? I__ _totally got it wrong. Shit, this is beyond embarrassing—it's downright humiliating._ __  


As a foreign sense of self-loathing bubbled inside of him, Midorima struggled for words. He couldn't tell who was at fault. Should he be angry or apologetic?

Takao looked down and said, "Um…"

Midorima's thoughts crashed to a halt. "Yes?"

"I…" Takao bit his lip and stepped back. "You should go."

"Oh." Midorima felt his heart sink and his pulse quicken. All the doubts had been right. He adjusted his glasses again and tried to get his blushing under control. "Right."

Takao nodded softly, still not making eye contact, and held his finger. Midorima was still reeling but did his best to move like nothing was different.

_Like nothing's different.  
_ _We just kissed, didn't we?_

The sting of rejection started to settle in along with the feeling of total confusion. He organized and closed up his first aid kit, wishing he hadn't kissed him. Wishing he'd left just a few minutes earlier. Wishing he hadn't offered to carry that damn couch. He had picked up his kit just as he heard the other guy say something.

"What?" He hadn't caught whatever he'd said—it'd been too quiet. He turned to see that Takao was closer than expected and his heart picked up speed again. This time he could actively feel his hands shaking, if only a little. Yeah, there was no way he could pretend things weren't different now.

"I said, um," Takao was looking straight into his eyes again. "Could you come back tomorrow? To check on the cut, I mean?"

Midorima looked at him and blinked, utterly perplexed.

The cut on his finger wasn't serious enough that it needed looking after. Honestly, it wasn't even bad enough that Takao himself couldn't have handled it had he been alone.

Still, he replied, "If you feel that it's necessary."

It was an excuse. A very poorly masked one, at that.  
But it was an excuse they both wanted.

After leaving the room, leaving the building, and feeling a faint breeze against his face, he finally felt himself calm down again.

"Damn," he muttered to himself before beginning the short walk to his building.

_...This is my fault._

Had he even properly heeded his horoscope for the day? Sure, he had Usa-san with him even as the thought crossed his mind, but when he tried to remember what his ranking had been, he couldn't. Couldn't even remember what he'd done that day. All he remembered now was a couch and a kiss.

_Damn, my head is all clouded._

When he got to his room, he set the bunny he'd lugged around campus all day on his bed.

_I doubt I'll be able to get any work done._

He lay down on the bed, too, his mind racing despite his best efforts to calm it down. He let out an aggravated sigh—he really hated that he'd been so reckless.

Midorima had never kissed a guy before.  
What did that mean?  
Did it mean anything?  
He'd been caught up in the moment—  
But he'd been caught up in the moment  _with_   _a guy._

He knit his brow and removed his glasses.

 _Was this in Oha Asa?_  he wondered, sarcastically.  _I wish I'd known today would end with me questioning my sexuality._

Did he have to, though? It had just been a kiss. Midorima sucked his teeth in frustration and closed his eyes, knowing that this thought process was just going to repeat itself.

_What was with that reaction, though?_

He opened his eyes again because keeping them closed made him relive the kiss.

 _He's the one who called my name like that. He_ literally _pulled me in._  
The more he analyzed it, the more frustrated he became. __  


Midorima hadn't kissed a lot of people. He hadn't had more than two girlfriends, either, and something about those relationships had always rung false. But even with his lack of experience, he knew he couldn't have read that wrong.

Right?

No one could read something like that  _that_  wrong, could they?

"Ugh…" He didn't like it, but he knew he needed a second opinion. It was at times like this, and really only at times like this, that he regretted the way he acted—to say he had no friends wasn't entirely wrong. He knew a lot of people on academic terms but the only person he could think of  _maybe_  asking advice of was Fujioka.

"… _Hm_ _._ " This was now the second time he'd left while he needed tutoring. Damn, he needed to get his shit together.

He knew the issue would be all he could think about until it was resolved, which didn't bode well for how much work he had coming up. Midorima wasn't the type to stand around with an open cut and hope someone would come to him and fix it.

He needed to resolve it as soon as possible.

* * *

"Fuck." Takao whispered as he wiped the last partially dried drop of blood from the counter with a wet paper towel.

_Fuck._

" _Fuck._ "

It was all he could think or say. He'd been quiet since Shin-chan had left and now that he was finally speaking, the expletive was the only word he could muster at the moment. Takao tossed the paper towel and touched his lips.

"Why did I!?" He shut his eyes and tried not to think about the kiss, but failed. Opening his eyes, he said, "I did something really bad."

 _Was it bad? I... I can't tell. I can_ always _tell. Was that a bad thing to do...?!_

His left index finger pulsed with pain and he glanced down at it. At the sight of the bandage, he winced—he was going to think of Midorima every time he saw it. He cursed under his breath. He was furious with himself.

His face grew hot just recalling how Midorima had been so unexpectedly gentle with his hand. It was clear he'd been annoyed to an extent but it seemed like, more than anything, he was concerned. Or at least cared a bit. But why should he have cared—why  _would_  he? It may have just been the careful touch of someone preparing to practice medicine but regardless of the why, it still baffled Takao and his body had just started moving on its own...

A kiss. That kiss. He could hardly believe Midorima had gone along with it.

_Why did he do it? ...Is he gay?_

Thinking of the kiss again made his heart beat—hard. And his pulse quickening made his finger throb.

There was something else, though, that Takao didn't want to admit to but had to acknowledge.

He'd been scared.  
He'd been really scared.

He was sure he would be rejected and that he could use the sting of it to find another person to like. Or no other person to like. He was sure he would maybe creep the guy out or at least make things awkward so he could know for sure there was nothing to be there for him. But instead, something totally outside of his calculations had occurred.

The kiss had been short, so short, maybe the shortest kiss he'd ever had. But he still remembered how he felt his blood freeze and nerves suddenly start to come alive during it. Takao was good at the lead up. He was good at seduction, he was good at sex, he was good at keeping things casual. What he wasn't good with were the little things, like the butterflies one gets from their first kiss with someone they like. Little things like their little, 3-second kiss, sent his heart and mind into a spiral whereas he could spend four hours in a sordid threesome as both a bottom  _and_  a top and go to class the same day without so much as questioning his life choices.

Metaphorically speaking.

The whole reason he'd let go of Midorima's shirt was that he had scared himself. He'd played like he always would and seduced him into leaning in and kissing him... but once he got what he wanted, he'd suddenly turned into a shocked, unrecognizable bundle of nerves.

He leaned forward against the counter, his head aching against the hard surface.

 _Fuck._  
"Fuck."  
It was all he could think or say.

A kiss had never felt that important before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phewww, so I cranked these three out. Not at all in one day, but I did pump out the last two within two hours of each other, I hope that makes up for it.
> 
> I'm both physically and... well, no, just physically exhausted—didn't sleep last night so I'm gonna drag myself (read as: lifeless corpse) up the stairs and into my bedroom. But before I do!
> 
> Tell your MidoTaka shipper friends to read this darn thing! That may just be the sleep deprivation talking—I did write 'darn', after all.
> 
> See you soon! Hope you enjoyed! Thank you for reading!  
> *bows deeply*  
> *falls asleep*


	11. Chapter 11

"So… that means that x is equal to 37, right?"  
"Wrong."

"It's an inflammation of a lymph node in the neck, indicating dacryoadenitis."  
"…The prefix 'dacry' refers to the tear gland, so unless you have eyes in your neck—wrong."

"Mm… Robert Koch first isolated morphine from opium in 18—"  
"No. Wrong—I… where are you even getting your information from?!"

Yesterday, Midorima bailed on Fujioka again, with little explanation, so he had no choice but to make up for it now. Unfortunately for both medical students, after a rather stressful series of classes earlier in the day, Midorima wasn't necessarily in... the _best_ of moods for tutoring. And his tutoring sessions with Fujioka always, _always_ , went like this.

Well… usually.

The two of them spent nearly an hour on each of three subjects and, more than once, Midorima had to instruct Fujioka to dump all of the notes he'd taken and start fresh ones. However, at some point, Fujioka stopped asking questions every two minutes and stopped sighing in frustration with every erased answer. Midorima glanced up from his own homework once he finally noticed the silence and the lengthy amount of time he'd been working on his own assignments uninterrupted. Fujioka sat across from him, with a tense brow, looking back and forth between his notebook and his textbooks—but there was no erasing. And more importantly, no questions.

Midorima smiled to himself for a brief moment.  
For the first time, it actually felt like his tutoring was taking effect.

A wave of relief washed over Midorima when Fujioka looked up at him, smiling softly, and said:

"I think I've got it for today. Thanks for being so patient with me, Midorima-san."

The boy continued talking after that but Midorima's attention was very quickly focused elsewhere—an open door was staring him dead in the face… a door belonging to one Takao Kazunari.

The inevitability of seeing Takao again had been at the front of his mind for hours after Fujioka had texted him that morning asking to meet later. Then it had subsided with the hellish amount of work he'd been doing. The nerve-wracking thought returned to him while he approached the building he was currently in but had been completely kicked to the side by the unbelievable frustration his senpai's lack of understanding brought him—he'd needed to focus all of his energy on not going crazy. For a short minute, though, he'd been flustered again.

Well into the first grueling hour of the study session, the front door had opened and shut, with the faint sound of music accompanying the shuffling of feet. Midorima froze for half a second before he looked up—his heart suddenly beating quickly and threatening to catch in his throat—but by the time he had, he'd already missed the person who'd just walked in. The only indication that someone had even come in at all was that one of the bedroom doors was now slightly open. Enough that you could feel the other person in the room but not enough to hear or see them.

And for a short, but full, minute, Midorima's face had gone from pink to red to pink and then ashen white as he tried to remember what formula—wait, no, they weren't even doing math anymore, weren't they going over history—no, suffixes? Prefixes?

Now, though, there was only one thought on his mind.  
How could he _possibly_ enter that room without raising suspicion…

"You can let yourself out, right?" Fujioka asked, suddenly.

"Ah—" Midorima answered, snapping back to the present. "Yeah, sure."  
 _Well, that just solved everything._

"Ok!" Fujioka called from across the room. "Thanks again for everything!" It seemed like he was already halfway out the door. The way the guy exited rooms had to be some sort of gift—you blinked or turned your head for one moment and he would almost be done slinking out.

While repacking his belongings, Midorima gulped—more than once. The slightly ajar door had made him a little nervous but… no, there was no changing his mind. He'd resigned himself to check on him so... he would.

With his zipped up bag in hand, he knocked on the door. There was no answer.  
He knocked again, harder this time. Still nothing.

_Should I just…?_

Midorima slowly pushed the door open the rest of the way.

_..._ _  
_Well, it's as messy as I expected._ _

Takao's dorm room would be best described as unorganized as opposed to dirty, but to someone as neat and meticulous as Shintarou, mess was mess. Very few things seemed to have actual designated spots: there were clothes in all sorts of places, but rather neatly arranged (not appearing to have been thoughtlessly thrown) and an assortment of books, CDs, textbooks, and video game cases could be found on the floor, on the dresser, _and_ on the desk. And speaking of the desk… that's where he was.

Takao was slouched over in his seat, his face comfortably nestled in his notebook and very faint rock music playing from the headphones in his ears. Midorima struggled internally with what to do next and ended up clearing his throat.

This was terribly awkward.

_I… guess I should wake him up. I'm here to check on his stupid cut, after all._

Midorima suddenly remembered a time not too long ago that Takao had been _pretending_ to sleep. Hoping he wasn't being messed with again, he picked up a book from the desk… and knocked Takao on the back of the head with it.

"Wake up, already."

"Hm—" Takao opened his eyes, just a little, and turned his head slightly. "Oh, you're here."

_'Oh, you're here'?_  
The completely normal way he greeted him, for some reason, quickly brought what had happened the day before back to the front of Midorima's mind. His cheeks went a little pink and he pushed his glasses up.

Takao pulled his headphones out and stretched his arms outward, shutting his eyes tight—looking identical to a cat. He shut off his mp3 player and turned to face his visitor properly.

"Sorry, fell asleep. I—" He lightly felt at the back of his head and a confused look fell on his face. "Did you hit me with something?"

"That's hardly important," Midorima instantly rebutted. "Let me see your finger."

Takao shook his head, yawning and waving his demand away. "No way, I gotta piss first."

His unamused face very clearly asked, _Did I really need to know that?_

Standing up, Takao added, "I won't be more than a few seconds. Be right back."

So… he was alone now. Shintarou stood awkwardly in the middle of Takao's room as he struggled to find something to do.

_What kind of person feels comfortable leaving someone they barely know alone in their room like this?_

A short sigh left him as he placed the book he'd been holding back on the desk and his bag on the floor, next to the chair Takao had been napping in. It was then that he took notice of what exactly the boy had been using as a pillow.

_Huh. So he actually studies._

The handwriting in the notebook looked pretty rushed and rough, an indicator that these were likely lecture notes. His penmanship was kind of hard to read but once Shintarou got a grip on it, he was surprised to see that the notes themselves were quite thorough.

_Maybe he's borrowing these from someone else—_  
Just as he thought that, Midorima turned the page and his attention was instantly drawn to a small doodle in a corner of the next page—it looked like okonomiyaki.  
 _…Never mind, these are definitely his._

Midorima thoughtlessly flipped through a few more pages—the thing he noticed the most was that when he wasn't trying to write quickly, Takao's handwriting was neat. The quality of his notes versus the way he acted really made him wonder what kind of student he was… was there a serious side to him somewhere?

"Hehe, I never took you for the nosy type, Shin-chan."

Midorima's heart jumped and he quickly slammed the notebook closed. His face felt hot—to be caught going through someone else's things like this… yeah, he really _wasn't_ the nosy type, what had gotten into him!? He waited a few seconds for his pulse to go back to normal.

"I…" He made eye contact with a smiling Takao and immediately glanced away, adjusting his glasses. "I didn't have much to do here and got carried away."

" _Pft._ "

_Ugh._

"Just let me see it, already. Your finger." Midorima glanced back at Takao. "You asked me to check on it, didn't you?"

"Yeah, yeah." Takao agreed, still smiling. He walked over and sat on his bed. The dormitory beds were set up so the mattress could be adjusted in height and Takao's was set up quite high—high enough that his feet actually dangled a few inches off the ground when he sat. "Here," he said, offering his left hand to him.

Midorima frowned as soon as he laid eyes on Takao's index finger.

"Have you even changed the bandage I put on yesterday?"

"Changed it? No…?"

Midorima closed his eyes and sighed, bringing his left hand up to rub his temples in exasperation. Two idiots in one day. "Get me your first aid kit."

"Didn't bring yours this time?" Takao asked, sliding down and dipping under his bed briefly.

Midorima didn't dare mention how Takao's brief teasing about being overly prepared the day before had made him reconsider bringing his own kit to mend him. Takao placed the kit on his comforter and hopped back onto his bed.

"So you showered with it and everything?"

Takao nodded.

"Tch. You're supposed to keep wounds _dry._ " His brow knit in disapproval.

"Is that so?" Takao smiled. "I'm not terribly good with after care, you'll have to excuse me."

_It's not a matter of being excused when it's your own wound to worry about._

Taking care not to tug with more force than was necessary to pull the adhesive apart (not that it mattered since the pitiful bandage slid off), Midorima frowned at the cut. Sure enough, it was red and just a little swollen, showing the earliest signs of infection. He wasted no time in going to work on it. There were a few seconds of silence as Midorima threw the old bandage away.

"Whenever I broke something as a kid," Takao suddenly started. "My mom would go nuts 'cause I'd always mess up the cast somehow."

"'Whenever'?" Midorima asked, not looking up. "You broke bones often?"

"Well, maybe not often but I fell from a lot of trees. Lemme guess—you were the kid I would've fallen on, right?" He laughed. "Reading, right?"

Midorima almost wished he was wrong but was a little surprised by how dead-on he was. A lot of his time outside as a child had been spent in the shade of trees with a book.

"…Maybe."

"Pft, you could just say yes, I know I'm right, Shin-chan." Midorima knew he was smiling, even while he wasn't focused on his face. "I wish you'd been there, then—you could've saved me from a hospital visit or two."

"And wound up in the hospital myself."

"That's true! Or maybe we both would have broken something!"

He was done and let go of Takao's freshly cleaned and bandaged finger.  
"Why is the idea of two hospitalized children making you smile so much?"

Takao laughed heartily at that.

"It's not! It's just I could have met you earlier, Shin-chan." He was smiling directly at him now, eyes shining, and that last 'Shin-chan' had sounded particularly infectious. The sweetness of it made Shintarou uncomfortable in a way he was totally unfamiliar with.

"Are you from Musashino?" he asked in a stubborn tone.

"Nope." Takao's smile persisted.

"Then it couldn't have happened," he said, totally shutting the notion down.

Takao snickered, seemingly always amused by something.  
"I know that but isn't it kind of fun to entertain the idea?"

"Hmph. Hardly."

Takao sighed, giving up. "You're such a spoil sport."

_So this is it, huh. That wasn't so bad._ It was pretty much as if yesterday hadn't happened at all. He closed the first aid kit, forgetting for a second that it wasn't his.

"Anyway," Midorima said, relieved. "It's finished, so I'll go."

"Wait!"

At that, Shintarou felt a firm grasp on both of his arms—Takao had grabbed him. The word had come out rushed.

_'Wait!'_

Wait… wait for what? Did he have a question? Did he expect them to talk more?

"Uhm…" Takao mumbled.

Suddenly being stopped like that actually annoyed Midorima (more than) a little bit, but he stayed. He didn't even attempt to get out of Takao's hold. Instead he just waited for the other boy to continue.

"I, uh…" Takao looked down. "I don't really want you to leave yet." There was a slight hint of a chuckle at the end of the sentence.

At first, Midorima said nothing but, internally, he was trying to tell himself to calm down… his heart didn't listen and picked up its pace instead.

"What are you talking about?"

"I don't exactly know either." His grip relaxed but he kept his hands resting on Midorima's arms. "I just…" Takao looked up at him again, eyes… eyes… eyes what?

No matter how deeply he attempted to look into them, Shintarou could never come up with the exact words to describe the look they were giving him. They were incisive but clouded. Expressive but defensive. Mysterious? No, they _couldn't_ be mysterious, there was nothing _mysterious_ about this fool. He was simple, wasn't he? He laughed too much and liked joking around. Got too friendly too quickly. He was the type of person that cut himself and then waited for someone to help him. He was simple.

He seemed simple yet… Midorima averted his gaze.  
He really was no good at keeping eye contact with him.

Something about the weird look he was giving him… it didn't just make him uncomfortable, it made him tired. Or… maybe not tired but if he looked into his eyes for too long he felt hot, unsteady, at a loss for words or sense...

And at the same time… That gaze that made him feel so uneasy also pulled him in. He could feel Takao's eyes searing into him and it made him want to stare back. Midorima wasn't the type to back away from a challenge—his pride wouldn't let him even consider it. So he turned his gaze back to Takao.

_No matter what, I won't look away. I'm going to find out why it is he stares at me like that. If I just keep looking back, I might be able to figure it out…_

It was a useless endeavor. The space they occupied seemed painfully quiet and the air around them was so still, so rife with tension, that it felt like a single movement would cause the room to ignite. It was inexplicable, _completely beyond understanding_ , to Shintarou that such a sudden change in mood and aura could be brought by one noisy boy's unexpectedly deep stare.

The pair of dark silver eyes were incredibly close—that was why the gaze had felt _so_ overwhelming. Midorima had no idea when, but at some point he'd bent over—he'd literally been drawn in. It was lucky that Takao's bed was so high, otherwise he'd be bent over even more for—

For what?

Ah, hell, was there even a point in pretending he didn't know anymore?

Midorima couldn't even be sure if his heart was pounding fast or not because it felt so damn tight from the suspense of being so close to this beautiful boy's lips and so fucking scared at the same time. Scared because he couldn't tell what he was thinking.

_No, I… I don't know what he's thinking, that's right. I can't tell if he's actually interested or just observing me or—_

Takao closed his eyes and pulled at Midorima's arms lightly, just enough to close the tiny amount of space left between them. The shorter boy pressed his lips firmly against his and, just like last time, they felt incredibly soft. The pleasantness of the kiss caused Midorima to close his eyes, too, and he let himself become totally enraptured in the sensation. Takao's hands gently moved up from Midorima's arms to rest at his shoulders—very close to but not quite touching his neck—and he ended the kiss. Any chance Midorima had to worry that they would part, though, was quickly cancelled out when Takao kissed him again. This time, his hands did move to rest around his neck.

Midorima could swear that he felt Takao exhale, just slightly, and in turn he found himself doing the same. Their connection caused him to feel relief for some reason. It wasn't only that the tension had been relieved—Midorima's nerves were still on fire after all—but there was a sense of actual, emotional relief while they were kissing. He didn't quite get it, but it was undeniable.

Something about their lips together like this just felt right. Like they were meant to be like this.

_…Fated._

Takao pulled away, a tiny _smooch_ sounding off as he did, and looked down. Midorima almost worried he'd said his last thought out loud, he'd so thoroughly lost himself there.

"Why?" Takao asked.

"…Why what?"

He mumbled something so lowly, Midorima didn't hear him.

"You'll have to speak up."

Takao sighed, almost like he was annoyed, but the way he was now holding Midorima's face in his hands indicated he was anything but that. Midorima knew he was blushing and he knew it had to be a lot.

"I said…" Takao looked up at him again, brow slightly concerned and eyes totally penetrating. "Why are you letting me kiss you?"

"Be-because… I…" _I don't know._

Despite not getting an answer, Takao pulled him in even closer. He placed his hands behind Midorima's neck again and the look he gave him then—it was positively hypnotizing. It was a struggle, but Midorima brought his hands to lightly hold onto Takao's hips. It was all incredibly nerve-wracking and even though he prayed Takao wouldn't be able to feel his trembling, he knew he could.

Not knowing what to do here yet being drawn in anyway left Midorima constantly on the edge of running away.

"Why?" Takao asked again. "Why are you shaking like that?"

He took this question to be rhetorical, then figured he was right when Takao kissed him again. The feeling of Takao's fingers slowly winding their way into his hair nearly left Midorima breathless—and finally some of the apprehension in their kissing was gone. Shintarou wanted more of him and licked Takao's bottom lip, letting him know as much.

Takao pulled back in surprise before blushing a little and smiling at him.

_I finally managed to surprise him._  
Midorima found himself smiling, too—a little.

Just as Takao opened his mouth to speak, the sound of the front door opening interrupted him, followed by voices.

"Uh… ha ha, I didn't think to close the door," he said, chuckling.

_Neither did I_ , Midorima thought. He shifted his attention from the door, though, to watching the boy he'd just been kissing. Takao's hands were still wrapped up in the hair at the base of his neck; nice, warm… comforting somehow. It felt nice.

_That_ all _felt nice. But if Fujioka's here._  
He should probably get going.

The voices faded out and Fujioka's door closed. Takao let out a sigh but didn't let go or attempt to move back. He turned to see Midorima staring at him, causing him to smile shyly.

A shy smile—that was something new to Midorima.

"I have a feeling every time I see you, I'm going to want to do this, Shin-chan," he said in a playful tone.

"I…" _What am I supposed to say to that…_

"But that's probably not something you want, right?"

Takao finally let go. Their hands touched when he removed Midorima's hands from his waist and Midorima could swear Takao's fingers lingered for a second.

"I don't recall saying that," Midorima replied, stubborn as ever. "I-It doesn't particularly matter to me."

"Oh really?" Takao lifted an eyebrow, like he didn't quite believe him. He smiled before shifting backwards, firmly establishing a normal distance away from him again. "Anyway, thank you for the finger. Again. Keep it dry, right?"

"Yes. If you do that, you shouldn't have any problems with it. Unless you neglect to change the bandage at _least_ once." Midorima found himself forced into Takao's pace and also backed away, grabbing his bag.

"Thanks for the house call, sensei~" Takao teased.

"Whatever," Midorima grumbled. As he began to move for the door, a thought struck him.

_I don't really want to…_

He turned back to face Takao as he realized he didn't want to go just yet. He couldn't think of a possible reason to stay—or what they would talk about or do since the mood had decidedly shifted back to normal—but he knew he didn't want to leave.

What he saw, though, was Takao looking away from him. Already focused on something else. He blushed and condemned the idea.

_What was I thinking?_

Takao, noticing he was still there, turned his head to face him again.

"Hm?"

"Uh—it's nothing. Bye."

* * *

Takao watched Midorima close the door behind him and turned to look out his window again. He leaned against the wall and brought his knees to his face.

_I can't calm down._

He tugged at the neck of his t-shirt, trying to alleviate some of the heat he felt. It didn't work and he just ended up recalling how badly he'd wanted to slip his fingers between Midorima's when he'd moved his hands from his waist. Takao's face felt unbearably hot and he buried his head in his knees.

Once again, he was totally flustered.


	12. Chapter 12

It was early on a Monday morning and Takao was walking home. Usually, if he was walking home this early, he was coming back from an impromptu sleepover at a friend's place after a party or he was sore after a night of, well... you know, other things. For the first time, though, he was walking back from the library with his backpack and his most comfortable hoodie on. He had a test later that morning and two papers due that he had originally planned to complete over the weekend but had gotten slightly distracted by friends, video games, and one particularly tall guy with green hair. Internally, he actually blamed his procrastination mostly on the last distraction—each time he'd tried to buckle down and start writing, his mind would wander to their kiss or the light feeling of his hands on his hips or how soft his hair was or finally getting to touch the long, elegant fingers he secretly lusted after.

_Damn, I'm thinking about it again!_

Takao shook his head, trying to clear the memory from the forefront of his mind, knowing it damn well wouldn't work. It had truly been a miracle he'd been able to get any work done the whole night in spite of that kiss; it was the whole reason he'd had to pull an all-nighter.

_But it was worth it, right? Whatever it takes to pass..._

Takao shivered a bit as he made a mental note to start dressing warmer. November had just started, after all, and although he wasn't a big fan of the cold, he did appreciate scarves and foggy mornings like this one. He closed his eyes while trying to suppress a yawn when suddenly he was hit _hard_ in the shoulder—so hard he actually stumbled backward. It was almost like a _wall_ had walked into _him_.

But obviously it was just someone he'd failed to notice also failing to notice him.

"Hey!" Takao instantly turned to yell at whoever had bumped into him. He wasn't typically the type to do so but it was so damn _early_ and he hadn't slept yet. "Watch where you're—!"

"My apologies. I wasn't paying close enough atten—" The look on the runner's face very quickly transformed from one of apology to sour annoyance. "It's you."

"Wha—" Takao blushed very quickly and very deeply. "What do you mean, 'it's you', you nearly ran me over!" Once again running into him _while_ he'd been thinking about him left him more than a little dazed.

Midorima brought his arms up to cross them and frowned. "And I believe I already apologized."

"How can that apology count!? What are you even doing out here, it's like 6 in the morn…ing…" Takao's exclamation trailed off as he noticed that the other boy was wearing clothes—long running shorts, a plain grey t-shirt, and a hoodie, zipped up, to protect against the slightly cool weather—that clearly indicated he was out for a jog.

"Isn't it obvious?" Midorima asked flatly, before Takao had the chance to take the question back.

"I—" Takao sighed and shifted the weight of his bag slightly, realizing he might be too tired for this conversation. "Never mind." Something about Midorima got him hyped up and he simply didn't have the energy to bug him properly so a silence followed.

"…Is something wrong?" the taller boy asked. Concern wasn't really in his tone but the question alone got his attention.

"Wrong?"

"You… you don't seem like yourself. Or the way that I've seen you, anyway." Midorima uncrossed his arms and—huh, he did look _kind_ of concerned. Takao hadn't known he still had the energy for it but he couldn't keep himself from smiling super hard.

"No, nothing's wrong, Shin-chan—it's just early, that's all."

Despite a slight twinge of disapproval in his face at the affectionate nickname, Midorima then asked, "Where are you coming from?"

Takao beamed up at him even harder, reveling in Midorima's unexpected interest in him. "Just the library—pulled an all-nighter. Guess all the fun's catching up, you know what I mean?"

"Not really."

"Hm...? You mean you've never stayed up the night before an assignment or something? And just studied til it was time for class?"

"That sounds terribly irresponsible and like a recipe for failure."

"Oi... I'm standing right here, you know."

Midorima went pink at that statement, clearly not having realized the potential for insult in his comment before speaking. He broke eye contact and looked elsewhere before saying, "Everyone has different study techniques that work for them, though. So."

"You're too sensitive, I was kidding!" Takao said, laughing.

Midorima sighed. "Well, regardless of you joking or not it doesn't make it less—"

"Hey, Shin-chan~," Takao somewhat rudely interrupted, suddenly feeling awake again.

A short sigh accompanied a "What?"

Takao's lips curled up on one side into a devilish smirk.

"Do you remember the other day?"

"The other—" Midorima froze up mid-sentence, what they'd done obviously at the front of _his_ mind now, as well. "Yes, when I checked on your cut."

"Mhmm." Takao took a step toward him, darting his eyes ever so quickly to the sides to check if there were any people approaching. "And do you remember what I told you then?" He took another step forward, this time eyeing the specimen in front of him. He had a generous glimpse of the boy's toned calves and the way his shirt hung on him and his sweater clung to his arms just a _bit_ gave Takao what felt like plenty of eye candy. And he could feel that his closing in on him was making Shin-chan feel uncomfortable—he could read it in the sudden tenseness of his posture and how his upper lip had gone so stiff. But he still stood there, clearly not the type to back down from a challenge.

"I can't say I do."

_Is he joking? I can't tell—ah, he's not joking. He's just denying._

Takao maneuvered his shoulders and arms so that his bag fell all at once and hit the pavement of the quad with a thud. Now he was actually close enough to Midorima that both of them had to angle their necks to still look each other in the eyes. The way they currently were would look totally suspicious to anyone who did happen to cross paths with them but Takao knew there was no one. He liked how there was a light fog settling over the grass and walkways of campus and he especially liked how out in the open they were. It was… it…

Well, if he was being honest, it turned him on. Though he would be lying to himself if he tried to pretend the potential of being seen turned him on more than the medical student he was currently making a move on did.

"C'mon, sure you do," Takao said in a playful tone.

"I-I really don't," Midorima said, very obviously on the verge of breaking eye contact and backing away.

"You sure you don't remember? Went something like…" He reached for the zipper of his jacket and pulled it down slowly. "'Every time I see you, I'm going to want to kiss you'… right?"

Midorima finally broke eye contact, blushing and stuffing his hands inside the pockets of his now unzipped hoodie. "You can't even quote yourself properly…" he said, indignantly.

Takao laughed, playing with the zipper. "Oh ok, then please correct me, sensei."

"'I… I have a feeling every time I see you… I'm going to want to do this.'"

_Whoa, he actually remembered._ _  
_Oh my god, no way, has he been thinking about it this whole time?_ _

Takao had to fight to not blush or laugh or act all giddy—but the fact that he had to fight away all those reactions actually bugged him more than anything. Why was that surprising? Of course he remembered—you say something that flirty and promising to someone and they tend to keep it in the back of their mind for a bit. Though… another thing bothering him about that was that he hadn't said it on purpose. The sentence had just popped into his head and slid out of his mouth before he'd had time to apply a filter. But aside from _any_ of that—

Midorima had remembered it word for word.  
And he was blushing to boot. Takao bit his lip.

_It'd be wrong of me to go back on my word at this point_ , was what he thought up to justify his behavior. _It's important for a man to stick by his word, right?_

Takao was very close to him now, so close their feet were touching, and, once again, Midorima was bent over him. His smile softened but persisted as he stuck his hands in his pockets, too, and the boy with silky, dark hair lowered his head, closed his eyes, and leaned further into the large body in front of him. Something in him inexplicably felt the need to bury his face against his chest, if only for a moment—and one hell of a moment it was. Takao leaned against him and was hit with warmth, not just coming from another person, but a warmth that spread all throughout him. A clear feeling of comfort and a just as clear, but much rawer, feeling of desire hit him and only hit him harder when he heard it—his heartbeat. Maybe he _hadn't_ heard it—it had seemed almost impossibly loud, so maybe he'd imagined a panicked heartbeat where it would have pleasant to hear one. Regardless of whether it was real or imagined, though, the sound caused him to quietly breathe in out of surprise.

_God… he even smells good._

Just when it had almost been too long of a moment, Takao, sensing his absorption might freak out the guy he was subtly sniffing, opened his eyes and looked up at Midorima again. The giant guy's cheeks were totally red, a sight that Takao absolutely loved seeing. He lifted himself as far as his toes would take him, closing his eyes, until finally he felt his lips meet their mark. He smiled against the other boy's mouth, unable to stop himself. To think he'd go along with this in the middle of campus, even if it was extra early in the morning…

_He's cute._

After a particularly drawn out kiss, Takao finally got back on the soles of his feet. Still smiling up at Midorima, he said,

"I'm going to do this every time I see you."

"You got it wrong again."

Takao laughed, picking up his bag, not really remembering dropping it but thinking it seemed like something he'd do.

"Last time I said, 'I'll _want_ to do this'—now I'm saying I definitely will, Shin-chan."

"…And you still quoted it incorrectly."

Takao shrugged. "Oh, well."

"Takao, I—" Midorima suddenly blushed harder and pushed his glasses further onto his face. "Never mind."

"What is it?" Trying to put aside that this was the first time he was hearing his name uttered in the low, serious voice of this man (and holy crap, was it sexy), Takao egged him on.

"I don't appreciate being played around with."

"Huh?"

"Look, I don't…" Midorima's arms were crossed again now. "I don't know how many guys you go around randomly kissing or whatever. But I won't allow myself to become one of them."

_Except you already have._

"Don't worry—Shin-chan's the only person I'm kissing right now," he replied. Ok, compared to his usual track record, and if he didn't count the disaster that had happened somewhat recently (which he didn't), he definitely wasn't lying. He'd tried to sound reassuring but, knowing he probably just sounded like he was kidding, he added, "Why do you think I would play around with you?"

Just as Midorima opened his mouth, Takao took notice of another person. They were far off in the distance but this encounter was better off ending here, he decided. He brought a finger up to the taller boy's lips and smiled, lightly nodding in the direction of the unwelcome visitor. By the time he looked where he'd indicated, Takao had already walked past him.

"I hope I see a lot of you, Shin-chan!" he called out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I doubt this is a particularly exciting chapter but it was either split this chapter into two or have chapter 12 be 5000+ words and a little exhausting to read through. So I went with this short encounter. I can promise next chapter's much more satisfying :]


	13. Chapter 13

Tuesdays were Takao's favorite day of the week for this semester because he only had two classes on that day, both interesting and fairly easy, and today he'd gotten particularly lucky. His literature professor, looking all flustered and pulling at his tie all class, had let everyone out early. Since he hadn't had a proper breakfast that morning (or any morning for weeks, really), Takao headed straight for the nearest cafeteria… and smiled to himself when he stumbled upon prey he hadn't known he'd been hunting.

_And of course he's reading alone,_ he thought, finding it purely adorable.

Without announcing himself or asking to sit, Takao set his plate down. The clatter of it on the table tore Midorima's attention away from his book but when he looked up, all he saw was a full plate of food of indeterminate origin. He stared at the plate for a moment, then looked around for its owner, feeling completely baffled.

* * *

"Shin- _chan_!" rang out right before the light sound of a cup hitting the table. He glanced over, his mouth instinctively affixing itself into a frown. "Let's have lunch together!"

He made a 'tch' sound in disapproval. There was no way he'd have a peaceful meal now.

"What do you want?" he asked in almost a growl.

"'Want?' Nothing really, just to hang out with my new friend!"

"We are not friends."

"Oh come on, Shin-chan—you helped me move my couch, I let you practice medicine on me—we're at least _friends_ by now." He was sitting now and the cheery lilt in his voice was persistent.

"I was headed in that direction anyway and you are being wildly liberal with the description of that last one!" Midorima barked back.

Takao laughed. "I've never seen you here before. Or any cafeterias, actually—ah, then again, I don't come here often. I order a lot of delivery and visit Maji Burger maybe a little too much."

Midorima shook his head lightly, refusing to look up and temporarily at a loss for (polite) words. He tried focusing on the book in his hand but it wasn't long before he was interrupted again.

"Do you usually eat alone?"

"Yes."

"Doesn't that get sort of boring?"

"No."

"Eh..." There was a brief pause while Takao took a few bites of the sandwich on his plate. "Really?"

"I have my books."

"…Books, huh."

Midorima turned a page, though it was just for show. He'd actually been stuck reading the same page over and over again for minutes now, his eyes simply running over the words without his mind actually absorbing them. He'd been a little distracted, not just now but all day, thinking about yesterday morning. Yesterday morning and the idiot now sitting across from him. He glanced up and glared at Takao.

The boy perked up when their eyes met and he suddenly started.  
"Oh! You know what I've been meaning to ask you, Shin-chan?"

"No."

"What was with that weird bunny you had the other day?"

_...Damn it._

Of course it only made sense that Takao would inquire about his lucky item. If it was a noticeable one, anyone who talked to him usually did—it wasn't out of the ordinary for even strangers to approach him and ask why he carried certain things. Midorima sighed before speaking.

"If you must know, it was my lucky item for that day."

"'Lucky item'?"

"Yes. Keeping your horoscope sign's lucky item of the day by your side boosts your luck and relations with other signs."

"...I don't get it."

Midorima sighed, closing his book and his eyes in annoyance. He reestablished eye contact with Takao before speaking again.

"For example, today the lucky item for Cancer is your favorite book." He placed the book down on the table, next to his own, long empty plate. "As long as it stays with me all day, what I need to do is try my best and leave the rest to fate."

"'Leave the rest to fate?'"

"Yes."

"'Horoscope'?"

"Yes!" Midorima nearly yelled back, his eyebrow twitching. "Are you just going to sit there and repeat everything I say?!"

"Pft, sorry!" Takao waved a hand out in an attempt at pacifying him. "I just think it's funny!"

"And what exactly is so funny…?!" Midorima found himself trying his hardest but basically unable to contain how annoyed he was.

"Just that someone as serious as you could leave their life up to something like destiny!" Takao smiled then, a completely open and happy one that gave way to bubbly laughter. "It's actually pretty cute, Shin-chan!"

_'Cute'?!_ _  
_It was clear it wasn't a matter of 'if' he was mocking him anymore!

Midorima's face went red and he felt thoroughly bothered.  
"It is not cute!"

"It is, though," Takao insisted, sounding pleased with himself. "So, hey, I'm a Scorpio; what's my lucky item for today?"

"I don't keep track of that type of thing for people of no concern to me!"

"So you only keep track of those things for people who do concern you? Like friends?" Takao paused for a brief moment before saying, in an _undeniably_ mocking tone, "But Shin-chan doesn't have friends, does he?"

"Tch—!" Midorima's body almost gave way to the chill he received at the end of the mischievous smile and happy glint in Takao's eyes. He stopped himself from completely exploding but felt the heat in his face growing even more.

"Oh wow. The silence of defeat, huh?"

Midorima rose to his feet, completely fed up. He stood abruptly and with so much force that the table actually shook and the sudden sound of his chair scraping against the floor and their silverware and dishes being rocked around caused the people sitting nearby to look over at them. At least that dumb smile had finally been replaced with a look of—what, what was the face he was making now? Confusion? Unable to find more words, Midorima stormed off, not even picking up his plate for disposal as he knew he should.

His mind was just too busy now. And annoyed. And humiliated.

Yeah, he didn't have friends. Who the hell rubs it in like that, though?  
And why did it even matter if he did or didn't? He had people he knew back home and he wasn't in university to make friends, he was here to study. So—

"Shin-chan! Wait!"

_As if I'll wait up for you!_ he thought, immediately picking up his pace.

* * *

_Dammit, I went too far! It was just a joke, you stupid, over-sensitive boy!_

It was what Takao did—when he liked someone, he teased them! He'd always been that way, ever since his playground days. It was all in good fun—shit, he hated when the other party didn't realize he was kidding.

Takao couldn't tell if he himself was out of shape, or if it was due to Midorima's long legs or morning jogs, but he was losing him rapidly. Gritting his teeth, Takao dumped all three of their plates (he'd instantly felt that he owed Shin-chan) in the dirty dish rack and began jogging towards the guy trying to run away from him. Or the guy that he'd chased away. Whatever!

"Shin-chan, please!" he called out again, hoping he'd realize soon that the more he ran away, the more of a scene they were making. As soon as he thought it, the taller boy stopped in his tracks and turned to face him. Takao smiled, at first, but upon seeing the deeply set frown and furious look in the giant's eyes, his smile cracked.

"I told you to stop calling me that."

_Shit, he's kind of scary right now._

"Hehe… but it suits you…"

"It does not!"

"Ok, ok, I'm sorry!" Takao offered both hands up in a sign of surrender.

"It's Midorima-san to you."

"What?" He blinked before realizing the misunderstanding. "Oh—no, no, no, I'm not sorry about _that_." Takao placed a hand on his hip, almost laughing at the idea of putting an end to his nickname. "I meant I was sorry about the comment I made."

When Midorima didn't say anything back, Takao felt obliged to continue.

"I just… have a habit of teasing people. It just means I think you're fun to be around!" His voice softened, suddenly worried he might not be forgiven. "I hope you don't hold it against me."

Midorima's frown softened in turn but didn't dissipate quite yet. "What an incredibly immature trait to possess, especially so openly."

Takao sighed and smiled feebly. Thank goodness, it felt like he'd set things right.  
"Well I guess that makes me a childish person, right, Shin-chan?"

"…Even if you keep calling me that, do you have to keep saying it that frequently? No one says the name of the person they're talking to that many times in a normal conversation, you fool!"

"'You fool'!? I thought we agreed to be nice to each other!"

"'We' didn't agree to anything—you just admitted to being an idiot who behaves childishly."

"Wha—did I just go from a fool to an idiot?" He pouted slightly. "Shin-chan, you're so mean!"

" _I told you not to call me that…!_ "

There was a moment of silence, a heavy moment of silence, before it was finally broken with the sound of laughter. Takao covered his mouth to try to keep it in, but found himself shaking with small, stifled giggles.

" _Pft… pft!_ "

Midorima crossed his arms again and raised an eyebrow.  
"And what exactly is so funny right now?"

"No, it's just… pft! Isn't this… This is kinda like a comedy duo? Or something—pft!"

"…Shut up, Takao."

"Ha ha!" That was the last straw. The laugh that Takao let out at that moment was full and a little louder than he usually let himself laugh. He just couldn't help it.

_Oh my god… he's the funniest person… ever!_

"So noisy," Midorima grumbled while adjusting his glasses. "I'll be taking my leave now."

"Oh… ok, Shin-chan! Hehe." Takao finally got the last of his snickers out of his system in time to get a proper goodbye out. Why had he found that so funny anyway?

Midorima had announced his leaving and Takao had said goodbye... but contrary to that, Midorima still stood in front of him, looking grumpy as ever.

_Could it be he wants to keep hanging out and doesn't know how? Maybe he wants me to say I'll tag along or something?_

" _Pft._ " Another one escaped him, accidentally, at the thought of such a passive, adorable way of requesting companionship.

"Tch," Midorima said, loosening his arms. "I guess you did forget after all."

"Huh? Did I forget something?" _Like something at the table?_

Suddenly, Midorima's right arm shot out and grabbed Takao's, roughly pulling him far away from the cafeteria's entrance and into an empty hallway.

_What's going through his head right now?_ _  
_Although he was nervous, Takao didn't dare let it show and instead chuckled before asking, "So what, are you going to kill me now?"

"I'm fulfilling your declaration for you, since you were stupid enough to forget it."

"My declaration?" _It couldn't be._ The notion that he could be talking about _that_ brought a nervous smile to Takao's lips."You mean about ki…"

Before he could get the rest of the word out, Takao was pushed firmly against a wall, Midorima towering over him. He felt his temperature rise and his pulse pick up—it felt like he was the one being hunted now.

_Crap, this is tense. ...But…_ you _were the one who took me to the side, you'd better be the one to do something about it._

When more seconds passed and Takao knew he was close to making the first move, the corner of his mouth lifted into a smirk and his eyes narrowed, boring into the green eyes staring back at him.

"Are you scared, Shin-chan?"

"Hmph. As if you could ever scare me."

Midorima closed in on Takao, firmly planting a kiss on the shorter boy's smirking lips. Takao found himself having to actively fight back a sigh of relief—all of the eye fucking had been exhausting. Having been the initiator of their kisses so far, Takao felt a bit of apprehension at being the 'kissed' one. He hadn't worried before because he'd been sure that Shin-chan was a passive kisser—that once he finally did start a kiss, Takao would pretty much immediately take the lead—but he was now finding that not to be the case. The way Midorima had his arm pinned against the wall with his left hand and had his right hand resting on his waist made him very aware of how in control he _wasn't_. He felt his skin prickle with nervousness.

He was _always_ the one kissing people. Pursuing people. Seducing them. Tracking them down. Confessing to them.

He was a proactive person.

But each time Takao tried to pull back from a kiss, Midorima would push forward and prolong it. When their lips parted and Takao reached forward to kiss him again, Midorima would yank back, just a millimeter out of reach. Takao could feel his face heating up and knew he was blushing—despite it being one of his favorite pastimes, he really wasn't used to being toyed with.

_If… if I can just get something out of him. A sigh or… my name… something, then I can give in. But... but until that I can't—_

Midorima licked his bottom lip, exactly the same as he had at the end of their second kiss, and Takao felt his knees—actually felt them!—go weak. He nearly had to bite his own tongue to keep it from darting out and sucking Midorima's into his own mouth.

_Fuck!_

The grip on his arm loosened and Takao opened his eyes again—he didn't even remember closing them. The taller boy was looking at him intently and calmly. He took a step back.

"You said you would kiss me every time you saw me. I expect you to keep true to that."

Takao's eyes were huge and his mouth gaped in shock. It was like… like…! Who the hell was that composed guy who dropped that cool line?!

"Y… yeah. I will." Takao attempted a smile and a witty comeback, but it all came out shaky—just like he felt.

* * *

Midorima Shintarou always slept soundly. He fell asleep within 5 minutes of laying his head on his pillow and closing his eyes. He didn't change positions more than once in his sleep and when he did, it was never anything drastically different. He didn't snore. He didn't kick or twitch. He did, however, wake up easily.

So when he felt movement shifting around in his sheets, his eyes bolted open and he immediately pulled his covers off to reveal what was causing this disturbance.

"Ah—you caught me, Shin-chan."

Shintarou didn't say a word as he observed the boy in his bed. His skin seemed kind of damp, like he'd been sweating. And the reason he noticed that was because he had no shirt on… and the skin on his tan back, and the tight muscles underneath it, glistened beautifully in the small amount of moonlight peeking in through the window.

"I plan on keeping my promise." Smooth, black hair, sharp, grey eyes, and a devilish smile peered up at him. Takao was nestled quite comfortably between Shintarou's legs and he reached up to tug at the waistband of his pajama pants. "I hope you don't mind if I kiss you in another spot, though…"

Shintarou shut his eyes and tilted his head back into his pillow. Warm fingers wrapped around his rock hard length and stroked, tentatively despite his obvious state of arousal. Just when he was about to say it was enough, he felt the soft pair of lips he was beginning to get accustomed to press firmly against the very head of his cock, the sound of the kiss incredibly quiet. That sensation was followed by another identical one, but lower, along his shaft, and that one was followed by more of the same. Light, torturous kisses peppered him and he fought to keep in a moan. Shintarou finally opened his eyes and lifted his neck to get a proper look at the way Takao was worshipping his penis.

What he saw wasn't clear. He tried as hard as he could but couldn't properly make out the person working magic between his legs. Couldn't truly see his dick being swallowed up. Did he need his glasses? No, wait… he couldn't exactly _feel_ it either…

Midorima's eyes fluttered open, eyelids still hanging low from sleepiness. He stared up at his ceiling and did what he always did after a particularly vivid dream—a quick mental review of what was currently going on.

_I'm in bed. At my dorm. Waking up from a dream._ He took a deep, satisfying breath. _The window's open. The sun is still down._

He sighed and rolled his shoulders, attempting to make himself more comfortable for resuming sleep, when mortification struck him. He pulled his sheets up quickly (a small part of his still sleepy head worried he might see Takao there) and what he'd feared was confirmed.

_I… I have an erection._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do you miss other characters? And plot progression? I hope you do, 'cause both of those things are returning in 14.


	14. Chapter 14

_That exam totally kicked my ass_ , Takao thought, sighing. He laid himself out on a bench in their campus' open area. He also thought for a second that someone might judge him for taking up a whole bench for himself or for being so relaxed in public, but also thought, _I can't bring myself to care_ as he set up his book bag under his head like a pillow.

The results had come in from the test he'd pulled an all-nighter for on Sunday and… they'd been disappointing.

_"_ I barely passed that… _" Gotta cram a little less and do more real studying, I guess._

His mp3 player pounded into his ears and he shut his eyes, trying not to think too hard about his less than stellar test performance. After three songs played and finished, he felt a tap on his shoulder. Takao sat up as he opened his eyes, pulling out an ear bud.

"Hm?"

Then he instantly regretted answering.  
A tall, cheery blond boy was standing there, smiling.

"I knew it was you, Takao-kun!"

"…Kise…" _And here I was thinking this day was already at its worst._

"W-what's with that cold reaction?!"

"Ugh, it's—" Takao pulled his other ear bud out and tried to combat the intense feeling of awkwardness and embarrassment now crashing down on him. "It's nothing," he weakly finished, glancing to the side.

Kise tried a smile, clearly also picking up on the awkward vibe. He scratched the back of his head before letting out a small chuckle.

_This is so weird it hurts._

"So—"

Takao interrupted Kise with a sigh.

"Look, Kise," he said, hoping he wasn't coming off as cold. "I'm really sorry about what happened the other night."

"Huh?" Kise blinked, then blushed a little and waved his hands. Smiling, he said, "No no no, _I'm_ sorry about that! That was so embarrassing… I'm an athlete and I'm sure I've never run that fast in my life…"

"Ha, yeah, you shot right out the door."

"I barely had time to pull my pants up!" Kise added, laughing.

_Pft._ "Yeah, yeah." Takao found himself laughing a little, too, against all odds.

Smiling again, Kise asked, "So we're okay, right?"

Takao perked up at that. "Um, yeah—if you're okay, I'm okay."

Kise let out a short, satisfied sigh. "Good."

"Oi, Kise, you're taking too long."

Takao leaned to the right to catch a glimpse of who'd just spoken—a tall, dark-skinned guy apparently. He stood at roughly the same height (maybe a little taller), had short, cropped, dark blue hair, and looked like he was terribly bored. Takao was pretty sure he'd seen him around campus somewhere…

"Aominecchi, I've only been talking for a minute," Kise replied, looking slightly annoyed.

"-cchi?" Takao mentioned under his breath.

"Oh yeah—Takao-kun, this is Aominecchi. Aominecchi, this is my friend Takao-kun."

_There's that -cchi again, what is that?_ _  
_Pft, and friend's kind of fast, isn't it?_ _

Aomine nodded in Takao's direction. "Yo."

"Hey." Takao nodded back. _A man of few words, huh? Seems weird that he's hanging out with Kise._

"You're so not friendly," Kise mumbled to the friend at his side. Aomine simply shrugged, a look of pure disinterest on his face.

"If you're still not finished, I'll just go ahead and start without you."

"That's not—!" Kise pouted and turned back to Takao as Aomine began walking away. "Sorry, Takao-kun, we'll talk again later, ok?"

_Ohh—are they fucking maybe?_ 'Start without you' echoed in Takao's ears and his thoughts instantly entered the gutter. He smiled.

"Yeah, no problem. We have each other's number."

Kise smiled widely. "I'll definitely text you! See you!"

Takao watched the blond walk quickly after his friend and paused before putting his headphones back in.

"Seriously, what's up with that -cchi nonsense?" He smiled to himself while pulling out his phone to check the time. "Oh. _Shit._ "

Takao still had one class left for the day and between moping over his test and talking to the model, he'd totally forgotten to get his ass in gear. He stretched his arms for a second before jumping up from his seat and speed-walking across campus to get to his most inconveniently located class. The academic building it was was nestled way into the front of campus, pretty much as far as possible from most of the dormitories. The exception to that was, of course, Rakuzan—the boys' block was a short walk away and the girls' dormitory was located right next to it.

One certainly couldn't argue that the school didn't cater to its richer students.

It had taken him a while, but Takao let out a sigh of relief when he finally got to the ground floor elevator of his building—with a very spacious three minutes before class started. He was answering text messages as the doors began to close, then opened back up at the last moment. Glancing up from his phone, he saw a girl with long, dark hair and bangs, moderately dressed in a turtleneck and a skirt with tights. The calm, subdued look on her face made who she was unmistakeable.

"Oh," Takao said, surprised. "Hi."

Inoue waited until she was standing next to him and had pressed the button for the 3rd floor before saying, "Hello, Takao." As soon as she hit the last syllable in his name, the doors began to close again.

Funny; the elevator had seemed super spacious until he was stuck with her.

Takao put his phone away, suddenly feeling like anything he did around her could possibly offend her. The silence they were in as the elevator took its sweet time starting its climb upward soon became suffocating for him. He cleared his throat before smiling.

"So what class are you headed to?"

"Bioinorganic chemistry."

"Whoa. What exactly is your major, Inoue-sa—"

"I don't like your influence on Kenji-kun."

"Huh?" _Excuse me?_ "My 'influence'?"

"Yes," she stated simply. The ding of passing the first floor rang out.

"I... I don't get what you're talking about." He fought back a mocking chuckle. "Fujioka and I don't even hang out enough for that to be possible."

"Yes but it's possible that just by being around certain behavior, people start to change and act differently." She glanced at him. "And seeing how you two are constantly in close proximity to one another..." She broke her gaze. "I'd prefer for him not to be around your kind of lifestyle."

"My 'lifestyle'?!" Takao's brow scrunched up in total confusion as the elevator passed the second floor. This time, he did let out a nervous laugh. "You're kidding, right?"

_She's being way too serious for this to be real._

"That's another thing, I don't like," she commented, a sharp tone in her voice now. "You tend to take everything as a joke. I would hate for that to rub off on Kenji-kun, as well."

The _ding_ went off again at the third floor and the doors opened. Inoue exited the elevator, but not before letting out a casual,

"See you later."

It wasn't until the doors closed, the elevator shifted, and the doors reopened at his destination that Takao finally became animated. His mouth had been stuck open in honest shock at what had just happened. When he realized this, he shut his mouth instantly, and remembered he was cutting it close to get to class. He shook his head a few times to get rid of the aftereffects of this totally unexpected conversation.

_When she was acting cold to me last week, she kind of had a reason, but this—is it fair to refer to her as a bitch now?_

* * *

"So it'll be about a week before he can return to practice—"

When Kise had said they would see each other soon, Takao hadn't expected to get a text message during class, less than an hour later. It had read something along the lines of 'what are you doing later' and eventually the two boys agreed to meet up for dinner at the cafeteria located between their dorms. It was the same cafeteria Takao had visited yesterday and when he passed a certain hallway, his heart sped up and he found himself wondering briefly if, you know... _he_ might be there for dinner, too.

But all thoughts of the day before had quickly been pushed to the side once he'd met up with Kise. They'd grabbed some food, scored a booth, and were having a fun, not at all distressing, normal conversation. It was 8:20-something and this was exactly the distraction he needed, but... Takao found it nearly impossible to focus on his conversation with what was happening around them. He kept breaking eye contact and glancing at his surroundings, feeling totally uneasy.

"Say, Kise-kun."

"Yes?"

Takao had always had a keen sense of perception and never had to look directly at things to see them, so it hadn't taken him long to notice all the staring. And once he'd noticed, he'd also instantly become vastly aware of the fact that every dirty look he was currently on the receiving end of was female.

_My luck with women today is complete shit._

"Am I the only person who knows that you're bi?"

"Huh?" Kise sounded completely confounded by the question that had interrupted his story. "We were talking about soccer, I thought?"

Takao smiled lightly. "Yeah, we were, sorry. I just can't pay attention 'cause I feel all these eyes on me—on us, really. It's like…" It felt identical to the distasteful male glares he'd gotten for a week when the most popular girl in his class confessed to him in high school (and he had rejected her, naturally). "They're all pissed."

"Oh, really?"

"You don't feel it!?"

"Ha ha, not particularly! No one's ever stared at me like that, I don't think."

"They're not pissed at you, they're annoyed that _I'm_ talking to you." _Stupid fan girls, I swear._ "That's why I'm asking if I'm the only one who knows."

"Ah, well," Kise looked up like he was thinking. "I never flat out said anything to anyone but there are probably rumors." He looked back at Takao. "And there are definitely rumors about you."

"Wh—wait, really?" Takao perked up at that, kind of interested in what they were. Would they be bogus and hateful or surprisingly spot on? _I wonder who or what started them—wait a second!_ He shook his head to discipline his thoughts. "Never mind! Can we go? These girls are annoying me."

Kise sighed, taking a quick look around, too. "Yeah—they're fans and they mean well but sometimes they can be… overbearing."

"Alienating."

"Ha ha, I wouldn't go that far!"

"I would." _Seriously, all these bad vibes are giving me the creeps._

Once they were finally walking out of the cafeteria, Takao asked, "Anyway, what were you talking about?"

"Huh? Oh—one of my teammates got injured during practice. He's a good goalie but he's way too zealous about catching goals, to the point where he's almost a danger to himself. Kasamatsu-senpai's pissed."

As the two of them pushed open the main doors, a dying leaf blew into the hall. Takao fought the urge to go out of his way to step on it.

"That Kasamatsu seems cool," he commented, now kind of regretting leaving it uncrushed.

"…Takao-kun, please stay away from Kasamatsu-senpai."

"Huh? Where is that coming from?!" Takao looked up at Kise who was smiling shyly.

"No offense but," Kise scratched the back of his head. "You seem like the man-eater type."

"I am not!" Takao snapped back, instantly offended at the notion. Then upon further thought, he scratched at his face, remembering. "Well, then again... maybe. Sometimes. But it's not my fault!" He added at the end, with gusto.

"You just go after what you want, right?" Kise seemed to be riding off of his energy and responded a little too excitedly to that.

"Yeah!" (Takao was doing the same thing.)

"I know, Takao-kun, I constantly get misunderstood, too!"

Takao sighed a little, trying to calm himself down.  
"I'm too preoccupied with someone else at the moment, anyway," he mumbled, not even bothering to correct Kise's notion that he was interested in his senpai.

"Eh? You are?" Whoops, Kise had heard that. "Who?"

Takao laughed, trying to wave off Kise's interest. "No one special, just this guy I met recently."

"Really? What's he like?"

_It didn't work._

"Well, he… I dunno, he's kind of serious. Really serious, actually, but somehow he manages to make me laugh. And I feel like there's this super soft, caring center that I can crack open and get at if I just keep trying—"

"Ohh, so you're not just talking about hooking up, you actually like this guy."

_Like this guy?_ Takao laughed again. "What? I don't like him."

"Are you sure?" Kise asked, the look in his eyes totally unconvinced. "I asked you about him and you started talking about his personality instead of his looks, you know."

"Well, his looks are good, too!"

Kise shook his head. "But that's not what you mentioned first, Takao~"

_Ugh, whatever. I don't like him._  
 _Well, I mean, I_ do _but it's nothing serious._

"It's more like a crush, I guess." _I just find him amusing more than anything._

"Crushes are fun, too!" With a nostalgic expression and a goofy smile, Kise added, "And sometimes true love can blossom from a simple crush, too."

"Ew, that sounds gross."

"What?!"

"Well, you made it sound gross. Who are you even referring to?"

"Huh?" Kise blinked, apparently unaware of how he'd just sounded. "No one."

Takao smirked; now he was the unconvinced one. "Really? So you're not talking about your friend?" When Kise's face didn't change, Takao thought, _what was his name again?_

_Oh yeah._

"Aomine?"

"Aomi—" Kise's face instantly went red and he began sputtering. "Ao-Aominecchi? No, no, no—not at all! He and I are just high school buddies, that's all! And we sometimes play basketball together but that's it!" Takao's smirk widened, causing Kise to get even more flustered. "Be-besides, he likes girls—girls _only!_ Girls with big boobs!"

Takao flat out laughed at him. "Calm down! I was just guessing!"

"I just want to make sure you don't have the wrong idea!" Kise said, clearly still rattled but trying to compose himself. He pouted. "Your guess was way off."

_Yeah, I'm sure it was._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lmao because Takao thinks Kise calling himself his friend is fast. Takao. Takao of all people. (Poor Kise can't catch a break.) Next time I write Kise and Takao, I wanna have more of them getting each other worked up in conversation—"I feel this way!" "Oh is it because of this?!" "Yes!" "Me, too!" "I know, right!"  
> It's way too much fun to write, lol.
> 
> Speaking of fun conversations to write, I loved doing his interaction with Inoue. God, I love conflict. And vague threats. <333
> 
> I hope you enjoyed reading this even half as much as I enjoyed writing it. :]


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter features a very long flashback because of reasons!

It was Friday, finally, and Takao was in the living room of his dorm, playing yet another handheld video game. He'd tried to find the motivation to go to class that morning but had failed and elected to spend the entire day in his sleeping clothes, getting no work done at all. When Fujioka had gotten home an hour before, Takao tried to explain it to him—he didn't seem to understand. Then again, he didn't expect a struggling medical student to get how it was necessary to slack off every now and again.

As Takao's player character approached yet another treasure chest, three firm  _knock_ s sounded off at the front door.

"...Do I really have to get this door right now?"  
Takao sighed as he mumbled the sentiment to himself.

Of course, Takao stood up and headed for the entrance anyway—as if he'd actually make Fujioka get up while he was right there, just playing video games. His eyes stayed glued to the small screen in his hands as he stood up and he continued playing right down to the moment he pulled the door open.

 _I wonder if it's that girl_ , he thought, suddenly remembering his random confrontation with Inoue the other day. He hoped he could avoid the awkwardness of having to see her again, at least for a little while. He tore his eyes away from his game to greet the guest at his door.

Takao then froze.

He instantly felt a wave of self-consciousness hit him—his hair was a mess, he tried to, but couldn't, remember the last time he'd washed this shirt he was wearing, he was in his _boxers for god's sake_ , and Midorima was standing directly in front of him—hair perfectly placed and combed and his sweater and collared shirt in complete order,  _of course._

"Um…" Takao started, feeling profoundly awkward.

_I haven't even showered yet!_

He panicked for a split second before finding the right words to say. "Fujioka is in his room—you can go right in." Takao made sure to point in the direction of the room, too; in case he had been somehow unclear. The huge knot in his throat definitely  _made_  him feel like he wasn't being clear.

He took a long step backward, making sure to put a huge amount of space between Midorima and himself. Takao knew the appearance was perfectly normal since the two medical students knew each other and all, but still couldn't help but feel unnerved... he'd never imagined answering the door to see Midorima standing there. Feeling jittery from the encounter, Takao left the green-haired guy to close the door himself and walked off, rather quickly, to his room.

He let out a sigh when the bedroom door shut behind him.

Takao took a shallow breath and looked down at his game.

"Damn," he mumbled. He'd accidentally left his game running.

_Stupid Shin-chan…_

As he tried to remember which exact quest he was currently on, his mind kept wandering to what had happened the night before.

* * *

_Thursday_

Takao sighed and laid back in his chair. Miyaji, Ootsubo, and Kimura appeared to be having fun watching the basketball game. Takao himself wasn't particularly invested in either of the teams playing, though, and found his gaze drooping and his thoughts wandering elsewhere.

And he was still thinking very much about what he'd unwittingly admitted to yesterday.

He had a crush on the tall, green-haired medical student.  
Takao could already feel the apprehension sneaking in on him. Liking him didn't mean he would be liked back. Especially by someone so serious and focused on school. Someone he didn't really know anything about.

 _All I really know is his name and his major._ _  
_...But maybe I'm being overly pessimistic._ _

"Takao," Ootsubo called out. Takao snapped out of thought and saw that there was now an ad playing on the television. Miyaji and Kimura appeared to be disagreeing about the game in some way but Ootsubo was looking at him as if he'd been talking for a while.

"Oh, sorry—I'm kinda out of it." He flashed an apologetic smile. "What's up?"

"I know you said you wouldn't say who it was, but I think I know."

"Huh?" Takao couldn't make  _any_  sense of what he'd just heard.

"The guy that you got busted with the other night."

"The other—" Takao's eyes widened and his brows scrunched together. "Wha—can we not talk about that!? I'm starting to regret saying anything at all to you guys!"

Ootsubo simply continued to smile in the reserved fashion that was signature to him.

"It's that blond model guy, right? I saw you and him in the cafeteria last night."

"It's not!"

"I've definitely heard that he's into guys—"

" _How would I know!_ " Takao knew he was getting too defensive about this for his denial to be effective. Damn. And Ootsubo just continued to smile gently at him, obviously confident in his assumption. Takao sighed and pouted, looking back at the TV for no discernible reason other than to break eye contact. "Whatever, I'm going home."

Ootsubo's smile left him. "You are? Takao, you don't have to _—_ "

Takao was already at the door, and just in time to hear Miyaji ask something along the lines of 'what the hell's his problem?'

 _...What is my problem? What was I getting all flustered for? I'm usually a much better liar—_  His thought was interrupted and he stopped in his tracks. Takao had meant to take a right and walk toward the main entrance of the building but for some reason, where he expected to see large glass doors, he saw an elevator.

He had been walking in the opposite direction.  
His face grew hot and he pulled at his hair in frustration.

"What the hell's going on with me these days!?"

"Tch."

A deep, familiar voice tinged with disapproval sounded.

"So noisy, even when you're alone."

"Ah—"

Takao turned around and Midorima Shintarou was just a few feet away, walking toward him. He wasn't wearing his typical button-up, collared shirt—he was instead dressed in athletic shorts and a hoodie again, unzipped this time—his gym clothes. Takao smiled a little.

"Shin-chan—funny seeing you here."

"I don't see how it's funny considering I live here," Midorima retorted, now passing by him.

"Hehe, I guess you're right." Takao stuck his hands in his pockets and began to follow him. Midorima suddenly stopped walking.

"Where are you going?" he asked sternly, turning back to face Takao.

"Hm? Where ever you are—"

"And why is that? I assume you came here to see someone else?"

"Huh?" Takao lightly scratched at his temple, feigning a look of cluelessness. "Well, I guess so. I was hanging out with some friends in the rec room, but they were talking about a bunch of upperclassman stuff and I got bored." He smiled again, hoping his bluff seemed valid enough. "Then I got lost and you happened to find me! Lucky, huh?" He unintentionally gave a particularly bright smile at the end of the sentence.

"There is no way you got lost between the recreation room and the front door." Midorima adjusted his glasses, the light overhead causing a slight glint in the lenses as he furrowed his eyebrows. "Even you're not that stupid."

"So mean!" Takao whined, unable to keep himself from chuckling despite the insult. "So are you heading upstairs?" he asked, nodding toward the elevator. Midorima didn't answer and instead he continued to give his look of disapproval and crossed his arms. "Oh... so your room is on this floor," Takao inferred.

Midorima sighed, seemingly giving up on his privacy. "It's the last door in the hall."

"Haha, I knew it," Takao hummed, playfully rocking back and forth on his heels in triumph. Midorima turned to continue walking down the hallway and Takao followed him.

 _He's not sweaty at all_... he thought as he stared up at the broad back in front of him.  _Then again, he might have cooled off on his walk back from... huh._

"Were you jogging again?"

"I was at the gym."

Takao pictured Midorima lifting weights and the idea seemed kind of silly at first—a composed, antisocial bookworm like him putting in physical effort in a public setting! Yeah, it was silly... until he then pictured him shirtless, dripping in sweat, veins and muscles bulging with exertion and testosterone... all accompanied by that serious, furrowed brow and unprovoked death glare... staring him down.

 _Shit. Getting turned on out of nowhere._  Takao smiled to himself, actually pretty annoyed with how little control he seemed to have over himself. He was all about control but when this guy was around...

Midorima stopped in front of a door and Takao, paying too little attention and trying to memorize  _and_ erase a sweaty, weight-lifting Shin-chan from the forefront of his mind, accidentally ran into him.

"Ah—sorry."

Midorima glanced at him for a second while he unlocked his door.  
"Where exactly do you think you're going?" he asked. Midorima's voice was less serious than Takao had expected—like he might be genuinely curious.

"Hm? Oh, I guess I did follow you! Ha ha!"

Midorima opened his mouth as if to say something, then shut it again and stared at Takao instead. He then sighed and turned his head to face the door as he unlocked.

"I don't get what the hell you're getting out of this."

Takao felt his heart pick up in speed a bit as the jingling of keys sounded.

The door opened and Midorima stepped in... but didn't close the door behind him.  
It was an open invitation.

"Oh. P... pardon the intrusion." The surprise triggered unnatural formality in Takao. He actually felt a little... nervous.

He'd been trying to go home and now—now he was in a certain someone's overly tidy dormitory.

Shuutoku's A building was mostly for upperclassmen so the number of freshman and sophomores there was low. The reason it was mostly reserved for juniors and seniors was that a large number of the rooms were singles and the units meant for multiple residents were bigger than the ones in the B building. It looked like Midorima lived alone which made total sense... Takao couldn't imagine Shin-chan happily sharing a space with an everyday college student.

 _Don't underclassmen have to pay more if they manage to live here?_  Takao wondered.  _Though if it turned out he was rich or something, that would make sense, too._

This particular unit was just a bedroom but the room itself was large enough to make up for a lack of common room.

Midorima's bed was in the furthest corner of the room, next to the window and with the head of it situated between the wall and a rather large shelf. The shelf was filled with books, save for the top two racks; these two were more spacious and held what looked like trinkets and toys. Figurines, a deck of cards—oh, and that huge, orange bunny from before.

The bed was made.  
The small kitchen area was clear.  
Hell, even the carpet was spotless.

 _It really doesn't look like a male college student lives here,_ Takao thought, making sure to take off his shoes with as little mess as possible.

Takao closed the door behind him as his eyes finally drew to the back of his host. Midorima was placing his bag down and taking off his hoodie. Takao smirked to himself, the most impure of intentions soaring around in his head.

 _What the hell am I doing here?_  he finally asked himself.

Something stopped him from doing what he would usually do. Under these circumstances, Takao would normally have slithered over to his target, silently snuck a kiss in, and dragged him into their own bed. His fingers itched with the natural impulse to reach out and touch but his will wavered and his lips pursed slightly.

Some uncomfortable feeling was slowly creeping into him, spreading. It couldn't be nervousness.  _Yes_ , he was nervous, but there was no way he was nervous to the extent of freezing. With this guy. Midorima. Please. He let out a short laugh.

"I see things are just as tidy as I imagined they'd be," Takao said rather stiffly, almost like an announcement, as he stayed planted firmly in front of the door. "...Anyway, I've got things to do at my place—so." Takao almost cringed at how clumsily he'd segued into that last sentence.

_Whatever. It doesn't matter. Just gotta get out of—oh. But I can't forget._

Since he'd forgotten the last time, there was no way he'd give Midorima the chance to point it out again.

_'I'm going to do this every time I see you.'_

Takao's lips curled into a devilish grin... keeping playful promises? Getting a rise out of people?

Going up to someone and kissing them?

That was his territory. Suddenly his nerves were overtaken by a cocky feeling of mischief.

"Before I go, though," Takao said, suddenly his smooth self once again. While he approached the broad back facing him, now in just a plain white t-shirt, he licked his lips a little in preparation. "I believe I owe you something."

Midorima turned to face him, no change whatsoever in his face. The coldness made Takao's heart jump a little—but by now, he knew better. When Midorima wasn't overreacting to stuff and blushing like crazy, this guy was constantly pulling a poker face.

And that would just make it all the more fun to make him lose control, wouldn't it?

* * *

"C'mere, Shin-chan."

 _I told him not to call me that ridiculous name._ _  
_How did things even get this way?_ _

Midorima had let Takao follow him to his door. The worst thing was that he couldn't deny to himself that he'd really been hoping Takao would follow him... when the door had closed and he heard Takao's voice inside the room, his heart had done a flip and he'd been happy.

 _Happy._  Happy that this guy was visiting his place! It was the first time any other student had been to his dorm since he'd started this year... and for some reason, that person was Takao.

And now this same guy was walking up to him with a particularly annoying grin on his face and a look in his eyes that spoke of no good.

Takao wrapped his hands around Midorima's neck and pulled Midorima down to him. As he did so, he lifted himself to his toes and delivered a small peck on the lips. Midorima's skin felt like pins and needles and just as he closed his eyes and unwittingly felt himself hoping for more, his wish was granted. Takao softly kissed him again—so softly, it seemed out of character.

 _But maybe that's on purpose?_  Shintarou thought as he felt his cheeks heat up.

Takao experimentally licked at Midorima's lips. When Midorima's mouth parted in response, the smaller man snuck his tongue in. The wet muscle greeted the inside of Midorima's mouth and at first it felt like an invasion... but the incredible heat that came from his tongue and the gentle way Takao now had his hands cupping his face made it... hot...

The raven-haired boy stroked at Midorima's left earlobe, for seemingly no reason at all, then withdrew his tongue, ending things with a small but definitive kiss, bringing himself back down to the soles his feet as he did so. Midorima opened his eyes briefly, feeling like he was in a daze, feeling like he wanted more of what they were doing. Like he wanted more of the sharp-eyed boy with the wide range of smiles in front of him. Once they parted, the only thought that flashed across Shintarou's mind was:

_He's not going anywhere._

It was like something in him just...  _snapped._

Before Takao could take even a step back from him, Midorima grabbed the boy by his waist and pulled him into him again. Takao's eyes widened at the sudden act.

"Shin-cha—"

The last syllable in that sickeningly sweet nickname he was so fond of faded into the smack of the two boys' lips meeting again. Midorima knew if he wasn't careful his glasses would bump against the face of the boy he was kissing so desperately but that's what desperation entails—a disregard of many things in order to get what you want. Takao let out small sounds against his lips that could have been words but Shintarou ignored them and instead licked at the lips he had seized, very quickly inserting his tongue into Takao's mouth, seeking that hot, intimate feeling from earlier.

There was a brief moment where the smaller boy's hands moved and a pang of fear resounded within Midorima as he worried that he would be pushed away. (He'd just suddenly grabbed him, after all. There had been no real way to tell if that would be a good idea and he'd just gone off of impulse for once.) But when Takao's hands just continued to embrace his neck and a few of his fingers snaked their way into the hair at the nape of his neck...

_God._

It was as if Takao knew exactly how to touch him.

Spurred on even further, Shintarou realized that the sheer force of his advance on the much shorter guy had actually taken them several feet in Takao's direction and against a round dining table for two that he'd, honestly, forgotten he had. Takao's hands moved from around his neck to support himself on the table and he hopped up slightly to sit. When the table wobbled a bit, Takao opened his eyes and glanced down for a moment, probably to check if it was a steady enough surface to support him.

 _No._ _  
_Look at **me**._ _

Shintarou moved one of his hands from Takao's waist to caress the back of his head as he kissed him, deeply before using his tongue to part Takao's lips. When he didn't insert his tongue but instead licked the very edge of Takao's teeth... Midorima was  _sure_  he'd felt a shiver go through him.

Takao pulled his head back then.

"Sh... Shin-chan..."

The raven-haired boy with sharp, silver eyes gazed at him.

Slightly out of breath.  
Hair just a bit messier than usual.  
A little flushed.

He wasn't smiling, though. Wasn't smirking or anything like that at all.  
Instead there was this undeniable look of bewilderment, neediness, and a slight bit of impatience.

Lust.  
With just a hint of vulnerability.

 _Damn..._ Midorima bit his own lip and felt his face getting flushed.  
S _omehow this look is... unbelievably sexy._

Midorima took a breath and placed his hands on the table as well. He hung his head next to Takao's face, not knowing just how warm his breath felt against the other boy's skin.

"You make me lose control," Midorima admitted, under his breath.

Takao let out a light snicker and a short breath.

"Is that so?"

Wanting to get his seriousness across, Midorima leaned closer to Takao's ear and muttered,

"Yes, that's so." Not sure what was coming over him, Midorima licked at Takao's earlobe and spoke into it. "Did you need me to prove it to you?" He slid a hand back to Takao's waist, holding onto bare skin at his side.

" _Ah—!_ "

Midorima jerked his hand back in surprise and pulled away, staring at Takao—but not before a chill of pure arousal shot through him at how goddamn hot that sudden moan was.

_Is he... hyper-sensitive or something?_

Takao already had his hands clasped over his mouth, his cheeks quickly turning from slightly flushed to red. Redder than Midorima thought a shameless guy like him could ever get.

"OK, Shin-chan. I... I have to go now!" Takao said, somehow managing to make sense through his clear embarrassment. He hopped back down from the table and edged past Midorima to head back to the door. "T-thank you for your hospitality," he said while putting his shoes back on and smiling in a forced manner.

"You..." Midorima readjusted his glasses, using the short moment to gather his thoughts and sense back together again. "You're leaving?"

Takao nodded, that half-convincing smile still firmly stuck to his face. Midorima felt defeated... defeated until he felt absolutely annoyed with what he saw next.

The idiot couldn't get the door open.

 _It's_ — _you just unlock the handle._

The longer Midorima watched Takao struggle with the door for seemingly no reason whatsoever, the more frustrated and annoyed he got.

_What, so this is a normal thing for him and he's just making his escape now?_   
_How many other guys does he do this with?_   
_Is he just suddenly leaving because he doesn't want to deal with talking to me about—_   
_About what? There isn't anything!_

This last thought and the incessant noise of the unmoving doorknob finally pushed Midorima off the edge. With a few quick, forceful steps, he rushed over to the door, unlocked the _simplest_  of mechanisms,  _for god's sake_ , and flung the door open.

"Go ahead. Leave." He practically growled the last word.

And yet the little Scorpio in front of him seemed unphased. Continuing the half-smile, he just said,

"Oh god, I'm such an idiot sometimes! Thank you, see you later, Shin-chan!"

When the door finally shut behind Takao, Midorima locked all of the locks. He nearly tripped over his gym bag, totally having forgotten that he'd dropped it in the improper place. After putting it away, he took a shower. He put on his pajamas. He brushed his teeth. And once he felt crisp and clean again, he pulled out one of his many textbooks and the notes he'd taken in a class the day before.

At a quarter past eleven, he decided to go to sleep. He woke up his desktop monitor by shaking the mouse a bit and, once again, saw his prediction from Oha Asa that morning. There hadn't been anything of note in the prediction, had there...?

"Oh."

With his computer hibernating and his body and mind exhausted, Midorima Shintarou finally laid down in his bed and closed his eyes. All he could see was a mess of silky, black hair in his fingers and an annoying yet sexy smile accompanied by a sharp, narrow gaze. And the portion of his prediction he'd failed to heed kept repeating in his head:

_'Today marks important new beginnings for you, Cancer!'_

* * *


	16. Chapter 16

_Friday_

Takao resumed playing his game and slowly walked over to his bed, trying hard to put what had happened the night before out of his head. He'd been doing a decent job of that so far (if he didn't count his inability to fall asleep without jerking off after getting home last night)... but it would be harder to do that with Midorima right in the other room.

There was a knock on Takao's bedroom door the second he finally sat on his bed.

He paused his game this time and bounced back off of his bed.  _There's no way he's followed me to my room, it's gotta be Fujioka or_ —

Nope. It wasn't his roommate. Takao's heart raced but he chuckled a bit to try to cover up his ensuing nervousness.

"Are you feeling alright, Shin-chan?" He smiled and pointed across the den. "Fujioka's room is the other one."

"I didn't come to see Fujioka." Midorima's eyebrow visibly twitched in what had to be annoyance.

"Well, there's no one else here so—"

"Stop playing dumb with me, Takao."

Takao knew the smile plastered onto his face had to be cracking at least a little now. "Ha ha, I guess you caught me..."

"I need to ask you—" Midorima's voice was stern but the way he cut himself off... Takao couldn't be sure, but it felt like he detected a hint of uncertainty. The particular way his eyes looked at the moment... it was clear he was putting a lot of thought into what he would say next. The conversation suddenly felt important and that made Takao squirm. Great, now the situation was _serious._

"Yes?"

"Why... why did you suddenly leave like that last night?"

Takao's smile completely fell. He'd gone straight to the point.

_...I_ knew _that was what he was going to ask. I mean, what else is there to talk about..._  
Hearing the question wasn't any less nerve-wracking, though.

"That—" Takao nearly swore because he could feel his face getting warm. "Is that really what you came all the way here to ask?"

Midorima sighed and crossed his arms, his stubborn frown not budging.  
"It's hardly out of the way. We live right next to each other."

"Well, I know, but... you must have just had a class or something, right? And you decided to come here—"

"Stop trying to change the subject and answer the question!" Midorima snapped, cutting him off.

Takao winced. Even he could admit he was being cowardly here. But... but the reason was so embarrassing! And Midorima didn't seem embarrassed at  _all_  by the question!

When he didn't answer, Midorima uncrossed his arms, laying them at his sides. His hands balled up into loose fists and his eyes shifted to the ground.

"First... you pull me in to kiss you. Then, you tell me to leave. Then you kiss me again and tell me you'll do it every time you see me." Midorima's tone was steady, measured. It was clear he was really putting thought into these words. "So we did exactly that... and then yesterday, you just ran away." Midorima looked back at him, looking just as firm as before. "Why."

Kazunari swallowed hard. Not even his thoughts were playful—it was very clear how serious this was for Midorima. This time, he was the one who crossed his arms, though not before absentmindedly attempting to smooth down his hair. Leaning against the door frame, he made sure to speak calmly... but despite his normal tone of voice and casual pose, his lack of nerve showed in how he couldn't maintain eye contact.

"It... it wasn't really a  _conscious_  decision to start... this."

Midorima's brow furrowed. He didn't get what he meant. Takao was struggling to find the least embarrassing way to explain himself.

"What I mean, Shin-chan, is..." The shorter boy let out a long sigh as his own brow tightened. He pushed his fingers through his hair and mumbled, "God, you just want a straight answer, don't you?"

"Why on earth would I want anything else?"

_Fine. If that's what he wants._  Takao steeled himself and looked at Shintarou again.

"I like you." While finally saying it out loud gave him a little relief, it also caused a slew of unwelcome feelings to flare up.

"You like me?" Midorima repeated it back to him, not sounding like he quite believed him. "Giving that as a reason is completely contradictory to your actions yester—"

"Listen, Shin-chan." Takao interrupted him, even holding a hand up lightly. The look on his face was serious, too. "I don't do anything half-assed." When he saw him about to speak again, Takao continued. "When I like someone, I'm not content with just being friends. And I'm not content with just casual dating. I only do the real thing."

Takao could practically hear the gears turning in his mind at what he was saying. Midorima swallowed hard and licked his lips before speaking next.

"In that case..." Midorima's cheeks were growing a faint red. "Why don't you—we could—"

"I'm also not looking for anything serious right now." Takao had an awful feeling of nausea sitting in him like a rock in the pit of his stomach. But it was the truth, wasn't it? He had other things to focus on... school, friends, sleep... The nausea only got worse as he tried to feed himself excuses. He knew damn well why he wasn't looking for a relationship. Why he was  _never_  looking for one. He bit his lip, trying not to dredge up unpleasant memories. "So you see my problem here."

"I... suppose I do." Midorima wasn't looking angry anymore, which was a relief, but he looked totally perplexed. He closed his eyes, raising a hand to his temples. "You're talking in circles. You haven't even answered my initial question."

"I left all of a sudden like that because I like you, Shin-chan." Takao huffed, feeling his fingertips aching to reach out and grab at Shintarou's shirt. "The way I felt while you were kissing me was really intense and..." Flushing pink, he looked off to the side and pouted, "You're not the only one who loses control when we're together... jeez."

Suddenly, Takao felt strong hands grab him by the waist. His eyes snapped up to get a look at Midorima but all he really saw was a flash of green before he felt a familiar softness enclosing on his lips and he closed his eyes instinctively.

_Was he even listening to me?_

Takao, taken completely by surprise, stumbled backwards and Midorima followed him inside, closing the door behind him, still keeping their lips intact. Midorima's grasp on Takao was so firm that it took great effort on his part to pull back and break it.

" _Ha!_ " Takao's face was on fire as he gasped. "What are you do—mmph!"

Midorima interrupted him with another kiss, this one just as sudden but not quite as hard. Takao felt Midorima's tongue slip out and lick at his lips, asking for permission. Takao exhaled hard when he opened his mouth, as if he'd been holding his breath without realizing it. The kiss was incredible—he loved every spine-tingling second of it—but that didn't stop Takao from trying to push him away. The more he pushed, though, the tighter he was held onto... and eventually he gave up.

"It's about time you stopped trying to run," Midorima softly muttered into his lips before kissing him again, with both of their mouths open. He didn't slip his tongue in like Takao had anticipated—instead, the most his tongue would do was sneak in and lightly lick one of Takao's lips before leading their mouths to a close again.

_I... I really can't believe he's this good of a kisser._

Takao soon moved his arms from resting between their chests and wrapped them around Midorima's neck, as he'd become accustomed to, his fingers now finding their way into his hair.

"Soft…" he mumbled into the taller boy's mouth. He opened his eyes a bit to steal a glance at him and was surprised yet again.

The way he had confronted him, closed the door, and been expertly kissing him, Takao was sure he would see a composed, confident man before him. What he saw instead was a brow knitted in determination and a face red with embarrassment and—Takao had a hunch—inexperience. It was a face that gave away how nervous he was. How much he meant this kiss. The sincerity of it tugged at something both familiar and unwelcome in Takao and he stopped kissing back.

"I can't..." he breathed out.  _I really, really can't.  
_

Midorima opened his eyes and pulled back but that earnest expression he'd been wearing didn't budge. Everything all together like that made him look hurt and Takao felt a twinge in his chest. This was already too much.

"Why can't you?" Midorima asked, still holding Takao tightly to him. Now, his lips were pursed and he looked agitated, confused. "Why... how can you be so sure of that anyway?"

"Huh?"

"You talk as if you know every possible outcome," Midorima continued, still looking hurt. "I have no idea what your reference point is for deciding you 'can't', but I'm sure you have no idea what you're talking about."

"Well, that's rude." Takao smirked, actually a little annoyed. Sure, he wasn't quite over a past hurt but... Midorima didn't know the details. To suddenly be told he had no idea what he was talking about... Midorima sure had a way with words, huh? Takao fell back onto the soles of his feet, unaware of when he'd gotten on his toes in the first place, and Midorima let go of him.

"What I mean is..." Midorima gulped as the color rose in his cheeks some more. Perhaps the tone of Takao's voice had made him realize he may have crossed a line. "I feel the same way. And I feel that way despite how different our personalities and interests seem to be... and even though I don't know much about you. There are several factors that tell me 'I can't' with you, but—"

Takao cut him off. "It's really not the same, Shin-chan."  _Things just aren't as easy as you think they are._

After a moment of silence, Midorima spoke again. "So what is it you  _are_  looking for?"

"Nothing," Takao replied.

Midorima adjusted his glasses and gave him a firm look. He didn't look flustered anymore... more like there was a resolve forming in him. Takao tried reading him, convinced he was up to something.

"Then let's be nothing."

Takao's eyebrows scrunched up. "Excuse me?"

Midorima shrugged, no trace of the embarrassed confessor left. "Let's go back to what we were doing."

"We weren't really doing anything, though."  _Oh._

"Exactly."

_What we were doing was a series of... nothing. But acknowledging it makes it basically the same as casual dating... But if there are no dates... if we're just hanging out or running into one another... then I guess it's different?_

Takao smirked again.  _Well, isn't that crafty._  "Ok, then, Shin-chan. We'll just keep doing what we were doing."  
 _I have no intention of getting into a relationship... let's see how long you can stand it.  
_

"With no running away this time."

"No running away, I promise." Takao was absolutely beaming. He truly found the entire idea very entertaining and he finally,  _finally_ , felt like he was back in control again.

Midorima sighed, his posture finally relaxing. He was silent for a short moment, pensively staring at the ground, before looking at Takao again.

"So you like me then?" he asked.

"Yeah. Quite a bit." Takao smiled, not wanting to give too much away. He brought a hand to Midorima's face. "And you 'feel the same way', huh?"

Midorima averted his eyes, embarrassed again. "I guess."

* * *

_So that's what it takes, is it?_

Midorima tried to regain feeling in his lips and shake the residual embarrassment off of him during the short walk back to his dorm. He was honestly pretty surprised—he hadn't thought that simply presenting a challenge would have been so effective in changing Takao's mind. Well, he supposed he hadn't changed his mind yet, but it was really only a matter of time. For whatever reasons he had, it was clear that Takao didn't expect anything good to come of dating anyone, yet he still agreed to their rather vague definition of 'nothing'. That was little more than him smugly accepting to play a game he was sure he'd win.

He'd thought of that tactic on the fly but it really worked.

_What an idiot_ , Midorima thought, blushing all the while.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoomp, there it is. Sorry this chapter's so short, next one will probably make up for it in length.
> 
> In other news, this is totally the halfway point of the story! I for one am hella excited because getting to this point means that I'm finally able to refine and publish around 20 pages of awesome material that couldn't be used until after this happened. Things are about to pick up! Massively!


	17. Chapter 17

It was now approaching a week since Takao had last seen Midorima, the day he'd been ambushed in his pajamas, and it had felt like an impossibly long week. Takao had managed to get his number from Fujioka (who had given him a totally bewildered look before sharing it) but was surprised when he got a message first—Shin-chan had done the exact same. Both of them had spent the past week going about their normal lives; Midorima was preoccupied with a huge workload and Takao was busy making up for assignments he would procrastinate on. There were certain times, though, when the two of them managed to find time to hold a conversation over the phone.

The first few message exchanges were extremely awkward, almost exclusively due to Midorima's formality. Takao had almost felt exhausted by how much of their conversations he had to carry, presenting topics and using more emoticons than normal to make it clear when he was joking. But by now, Thursday night, Takao was impressed by how well Midorima could roll with the punches. After all, despite his reserved demeanor and all of his polite language, Takao was quickly learning that Shin-chan was a mean, snarky bastard.

Just as Takao smiled to himself at yet another message, Kimura said, "What'd you even come here for if you're gonna be on your phone the whole time?"

Takao stopped typing his reply and looked up. Miyaji sucked his teeth and turned to face the television. Takao glanced back at his phone to finish his message and press send.

"Sorry, sorry."  _Shin-chan's just being really funny right—_  "Ootsubo-san, are you  _knitting?_ "

"Hm?" The imposingly large junior looked at him, the two knitting needles in his hands frozen. "Yes? I have been this entire time, Takao-kun."

" _You have?!_ " Takao's eyes widened and he ignored an annoyed sigh coming from Miyaji's direction. He quickly moved over to sit closer to Ootsubo, completely forgetting about anything else. "Is that going to be a scarf?" he asked, sounding like a fascinated kid.

Ootsubo smiled and continued knitting. "Yeah." His hands moved expertly and adeptly, shockingly so for someone as burly as him. The scarf he was knitting was a dark, rich brown.

"Who is it for?"

"No one in particular, I just like making things. What about you?" Ootsubo turned the question on him. "Who have you been texting?"

"Who was I..." Takao smirked, leaning back in his chair and pulling out his phone again. "'No one in particular'—just like you, senpai." Takao resisted laughing as he thought  _He probably thinks it's Kise, he seems so stuck on that idea._

* * *

Midorima sat in the cafe near campus alone, waiting for his tea to cool down and for his guest to arrive. He took a deep breath in and sighed just as heavily, actually surprising a passing server. Midorima held a miniature tanuki in his left hand and couldn't stop messing with it—his nerves were getting the best of him. He'd done the best he could. Despite being busy as hell that week, he'd still managed time to keep up conversation with Takao. And, just as importantly, he had also managed to find time to read up on Scorpios.

 _Scorpio, the fixed water sign. Sign of desire, hypnotism, and sex._  He actively gulped as he mulled over the characteristics in his head again.  _Known for their unflinching honesty. Prone to possessiveness and jealousy. Fiercely loyal and passionate about the things and people they care about. Secretive and slow to trust anyone. May forgive but never forgets._

Midorima was confident these were the most important pillars about the sign after the research he'd done. But still... all of these traits brought to mind a very intimidating, mysterious being... and Takao... when Midorima thought of his mocking smirk and the mischievous glint in his eye, the last thing he thought was 'mysterious'.

_More like maddening._

A soft tone rang out from Midorima's phone and when he looked down at it, surely enough the Scorpio in question had responded. He allowed himself a small smile at the message. Despite how casual he was, Midorima really had to give Takao more credit; the boy was deceptively sharp and delivered rather incisive remarks under the guise of playfulness. Or maybe it wasn't a guise—maybe that's just how he was. As Midorima's thumb hovered over his phone's screen and he contemplated what to say next, a figure sat in the seat across from him.

"I see you managed to take as much time as you liked," he commented, not even looking up from his phone.

"Sorry, sorry! I got tangled up with work! And to think, I really wanted to be on time for seeing you after so long."

"It's hardly been that long." Ah, he'd finally figured out what to write.

"But it has been! I see Momocchi and Aominecchi all the time!" Midorima pressed send and looked up at his former classmate who was now pouting. "I see you even less than Kurokocchi and he's almost impossible to find."

His tea having cooled down considerably, Midorima finally took a sip of it. "I'm busy."

"No one is  _that_  busy, Midorimacchi."

 _Ugh, these nicknames._  It had been so long since he'd heard that one, he found himself longing to hear that annoying 'Shin-chan' instead.

"Hurry and order something already."

Kise flipped through the beverage menu in front of him and their table's server walked over again, having taken notice of the new arrival. Midorima had to fight back verbally expressing his distaste at how blatantly their server was flirting with Kise, suddenly taking on a higher tone of voice, giggling at everything the blond said, and casually crossing her arms in front of her in a way that maximized her cleavage. Some things never changed.

"She seems to have taken a liking to you," Midorima said when the girl finally walked away with his drink order.

Kise smiled. "It's hard not to when I come straight off of a modeling shoot."

"So that's what that putrid air of arrogance coming from you is."

"Midorimacchi!"

After Kise's drink arrived, the two of them caught up with each other. After Midorima rejected Kise's attempts at reminiscing on high school memories, a short silence struck them. It took some effort, but Midorima managed to use this moment to say, "Thank you for meeting with me on such short notice."

Kise had a slightly worried look on his face at that. "Honestly, I'm just surprised you have something you want _my_  opinion on. Is everything ok?"

"Things are alright more or less."

"Like you would tell me if they weren't," Kise replied, laughing. "So what is it you need to talk about?" he asked, bringing the straw in his glass of iced tea to his lips.

Midorima felt an urge to dismiss the question, get up, and leave, but stopped himself. Adjusting his glasses, he answered,  
"A potential romantic interest."

Kise almost spit out his drink. " _Really?_ " He blinked multiple times. "And you came to  _me?_ "

"I hardly had another choice and you have considerable experience with these matters." He seriously couldn't bring himself to look Kise in the eye—he was sure the face he was making was nauseating.

" _Midorimacchi!_ "

Especially if his overly excited tone was anything to go on.

"Of course I'll help you! So what is it? Not sure when to make the first move? Does she have a boyfriend? Is it a one-sided romance?!"

"It isn't any of those things. Stop being so damn loud! The entire damn cafe doesn't need to know about it!"

"So what is it? Tell me from the beginning!" Kise ushered on, totally ignoring the complaint.

_Like hell I am doing that._

"I don't know... her very well yet." Noting how Kise had assumed it was a girl, he followed suit.

Kise nodded, listening intently. Midorima sighed, a little less apprehensive now that he was finally speaking.

"A few weeks ago, I helped her with something—it was just a favor. But then, somehow..." How should he phrase this while still protecting his privacy? "Things have escalated."

"Escalated like how?"

"Like..."  _Oh god, this is the worst. Explaining my love life to Kise._ "We see each other pretty frequently and when we do, we end up kissing. Things become rather... passionate, for lack of a less dramatic word." Blushing, he pushed up his glasses by the bridge again and quietly added, "And we've confessed to one another."

Kise's eyes lit up like a gift had been presented to him.

" _Really?!_ But, Midorimacchi, has she met you?! Don't scare her off with your abrasiveness!"

"I am  _not_  abrasive!" Midorima snapped back.

Kise resisted smiling at the complete contradiction in that statement and its delivery. "Well..." he mused, scratching his head. "That's pretty promising. What do you need my advice on?"

"She claims that she doesn't want to be in a serious relationship." Midorima started palming the tanuki again. "When I tried suggesting something more casual, she instantly shot that down."

"That's weird. Why?"

"She said she only gets into serious, long-term relationships with people or she doesn't get involved at all... basically. There's no in between." Midorima put on his firmest expression. "What is your opinion?"

"Wha—that's all you're giving me to go on?" Kise looked up, pondering, and took a sip from his glass. "I don't know, that sounds kind of tough."

"...A hell of a lot of use you are."

"Hey! What I mean is I can't guarantee I'm right, but I do have a theory."

Midorima was skeptical but still elected to give all of his attention to Kise.

"She's protecting herself, I bet." Kise smiled, clearly confident in his words. "Who ever heard of anyone who only does long-term or no terms? I'm sure she's been hurt really bad by someone before." He took another sip. "It's like she's trying to tell you to not get your hopes up."

_That does make sense... and matches up with a typical Scorpio's personality._

"So what should I do?" Midorima bit his lip a little, worried. "To change her mind?"

"Huh?" Kise raised an eyebrow and huffed. "That I couldn't possibly help you with, Midorimacchi."

"And why is that?"

"Well, she's  _your_  'potential romantic interest', right? I don't know what she's like." Kise laughed. "Although if you both have confessed, I don't think the 'potential' part fits anymore."

"That's—" Midorima wanted to complain about Kise not being useful there but almost immediately knew better. Kise was right about that, after all—making Takao want him would have to be an independent venture.

"I mean, I would suggest really good sex, you know? Really give it to her, make it so she doesn't want anyone else."

" _That's vulgar!_ " Shintarou almost shouted, color instantly rising in his cheeks. "We're not even doing things like that to begin with!"

"No, I guess you wouldn't be." Kise laughed, enjoying the rattled reaction he'd received. "Actually that makes me wonder... have you  _ever_ —"

"I am not answering that question, Kise."

"Aw, come on! We've known each other for how long? I'll tell you—"

" _I don't care._ "

Kise continued to whine and pester Midorima with questions for the remainder of their outing together. While Midorima did admit to himself that it was nice to be in the company of someone he was familiar with from earlier days, Kise was by far the most exhausting of his former classmates. He found himself wondering how the others were faring, knowing that all it really would take to find out was a call or an email—or even just asking Kise—but couldn't bring himself to. Besides, it wasn't like he was  _worried_  or anything, just slightly interested. Especially in regards to Akashi and Kuroko.

The two boys ended up walking back to campus together, as well, continuing their conversation along the way. When a group of four people passed by them, Midorima took notice of one of the boys in the group. He stood at about 5 feet and 8 inches... and had black hair that was grown out just a little long. His heart did a flip in the brief moment that he thought it was Takao.

"I'm not really sure if I'll stick with it since it's just an elective—"

"Kise."

"Hm?"

"I need to ask you about something." Midorima's voice unintentionally lowered and he adjusted his glasses, trying to hide his face.

"What is it?"

"You can't tell anyone," Midorima stated, feeling his ears get hot. "I mean it, not anyone."  _It's just I seriously don't know who else to ask about this._

There was a heavy silence for a brief moment before Kise promised, "I won't tell."

"The..."  _How do I put this..._ "The person I was talking about earlier. The.. w-what if—"

"What? What if they were a guy?" Kise asked, laughing.

Midorima froze in his tracks, a numbing sense of mortification sweeping over him. _  
Was I that obvious?_

Kise stopped, too, turning to him. Still smiling, he asked, "What, did I nail it?"

"H... how did you know?" Midorima grumbled, balling his hands into fists.

"Eh? How did I know?" The smile on Kise's face turned into a frown and then his entire expression turned into shock. "W-wait. Really?" He jumped and covered his mouth with his hands. " _Midorimacchi, were you being serious!?_ "

* * *

Takao frowned at his phone screen. It had been around an hour—no, definitely an hour by now—since he'd last heard from Shin-chan. If he was being honest with himself, he'd kind of been hoping there would be a clue in his messages about when he was coming back to the dorm... and that's why he was still hanging out with his senpais. Well, with two of them. Ootsubo had gotten a phone call and suddenly had to meet someone, leaving with his knitting gear and everything. This wasn't bad or anything, though... he definitely  _liked_  watching television and shooting the shit with Miyaji and Kimura. But like... come on...

_Why isn't he getting back to me?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am definitely very interested to read what you guys think about this meeting of Miracles. And please let me know if you thought the Midorima+Kise dynamic was written believably! They've only really spoken directly to each other in engaged conversation, what, 4 times in the canon? (Midorima's introduction, the infamous okonomiyaki incident, the infamous sunglasses disguise incident, and the time he spoke to Kise through a puppet in middle school?) I'm probably wrong, I have a very selective memory for this series. What I mean is they don't have a ton of moments for reference—that much is fact.


	18. Chapter 18

"So what's the deal with you anyway?" Takao asked, disinterested in the plate in front of him.

Midorima paused before taking in the next spoon of his red bean soup. "...What do you mean?"

"How many girls have you done it with?"

Midorima's lips pursed hard as he clearly attempted to control an overreaction. The two of them were sitting across from one another at a small lunch table in the cafeteria. Takao was kind of grateful he was putting in effort to not be loud, though—despite how easily Midorima complained about noise, he was quite prone to yelling and open, populated spaces like these always sound and feel louder than they actually are. Anyone who has ever suddenly yelled something and subsequently felt every pair of eyes in a cafeteria fall on them knows that very well. However, when Midorima didn't answer and simply glared, Takao thought he might need some clarifying.

"I mean how many girls have you fucked?"

"I—" Midorima instantly blushed and his shoulders tensed up visibly. " _What kind of question are you asking me?!_ "

Takao smiled, as if he'd asked something normal. "It's a simple question, Shin-chan." He played around with his fork, making it dance around in the leftovers of his lunch. "You don't _have_  to answer it—"

" _And I won't._ " Shintarou nearly growled.

 _Uh oh... I think I went and made him mad._ Takao regretted the question a little now but continued to watch Midorima as he returned to his soup, his smile turning into a frown. He chewed the inside of his cheek, worried.

It had been quite some time now, hadn't it? Since they'd finally met again after all of the texting, they had been seeing a lot of one another. When Midorima was headed over to tutor Fujioka—which was a lot more frequently than before—he would always text Takao, asking if he was home, as well. Takao hated to admit it, but he'd somewhat memorized Midorima's lunch schedule by now... and he used that knowledge to casually ask if Midorima was in the cafeteria between classes, always getting a 'yes.' And the kissing... god, the kissing. Takao was fulfilling his promise to no longer run away but at the same time, there wasn't much to run away from. Sure, his head would go light with the way Midorima would close his bedroom door without provocation and then proceed to pull him close and ravage his mouth. And the two of them had made that hallway they had kissed in that one time a regular stop on their way out of lunch. (One of the lights had gone out while they made out there once and had yet to be fixed; it was like the universe giving them its blessing to keep behaving like teenagers.)

They did all of that, but it... bothered Takao. While all of the kissing was hot and fun (and he had to admit, more gratifying now that they saw more of each other), not once, even in the privacy of his bedroom, did he see a shred of lust in Midorima. It was like... like they'd gone backwards. It was definitely possible that Takao's running away the one time had made Midorima worry about how far to go with him. However, a far more upsetting theory sat in his thoughts and consumed all other possibilities.

Last Thursday night, when Midorima finally replied and got back to the dorm, he'd been acting funny. As soon as he saw Takao he'd frozen up and started acting guilty. The exchange ended up just being some casual conversation and the two went their own ways. It had been totally weird, but in combination with this lack of aggressiveness...

_Is he seeing someone?_

Midorima glanced up at Takao, probably feeling how intense the gaze on him had gotten. Takao looked away, then rest his head in one of his hands.

_He's never been with a guy, right? ...Is it a girl?  
_

"...What's wrong?" Midorima asked, apparently having caught on to his mood.

"What makes you think there's something wrong?" Takao asked back, not even trying to alleviate the mood by casting a playful tone on the question.

"You're just... you aren't acting like you normally do today."

Takao lowered his arm and finally put down his utensil. Sighing, he said, "Who knows?"

"Hm."

 _He doesn't sound convinced._  Just as Takao was about to talk again, Midorima spoke.

"My class is canceled."

"Huh?" The statement had come out of nowhere.

Midorima cleared his throat and dabbed a napkin at the corner of his mouth. "The class I normally attend after lunch today has been canceled. I received an email about it this morning."

Takao's lips curled into an amused smile.

"You could just tack on 'can I come over' at the end of that, you know." His smile persisting, he added, "It's already obvious what you mean."

* * *

When the door to Takao's bedroom door closed, he immediately dropped his bag on the ground. Turning to Midorima, he readied himself to go in for the kiss (that he'd become so accustomed to under these circumstances) but stopped. By now, Midorima usually had his hands firmly on Takao's waist but currently, he was standing quite awkwardly in a direction not quite facing Takao. His book bag was in front of him and he was clutching onto it rather unusually.

"Uh, you ok, Shin-chan?"

"I'm fine." He really did  _sound_  fine but he was also blushing now. What on earth was going on here?

Takao stared at Midorima, who had a very curious look on his face right now. His lips were pursed and he was staring at the ground, unmoving. When he finally sighed and opened up his bag, Takao craned his neck to get a look at what he was up to. Hands trembling just a bit, Midorima pulled out a toy.

_What is that?_

"I apologize... I meant to give this to you earlier in the day somehow but we don't normally see each other before lunch." He pushed his glasses up again. "And I'm afraid once I did see you... I felt silly about giving it to you at all. S-so here."

Midorima outstretched his hand and in it was a wind-up toy bird. It was bright red and yellow with tiny details of brown and white that made its color scheme a tad realer and quite cute—it had to be vintage; it looked very much like it was handmade, the kind of toys that simply aren't made anymore. Speechless, Takao picked it up. It was super light despite the bright paint job that made it look wooden. He twisted the gear, experimentally, and the bird's wings flapped, it's legs moving just a bit as the whir of the gear slowly faded out.

"Scorpio's rank isn't very high today."

Takao's eyes were wide in surprise at the lucky item he'd just received but when he looked at Midorima's face, he instantly broke out into a smile.

_There it is._

"I.. I thought you could use the help."

_There's the 'dere' I've been waiting on._

Since Takao just gawked at the lucky item and then smiled without uttering a word, Midorima gave him a questioning look.

"You're just like a crab, Shin-chan."

"W-what?"

"Big, scary pincers and a hard shell," Takao smiled even more. "But a delicious, soft center once you go through the work of cracking it open." Looking back down at the bird, he thought out loud, "Oh, or maybe you're more like a lobster. Since those are sweeter..."

Midorima's expression darkened. "...What the hell are you talking about."

"Thank you, Shin-chan." Takao beamed at him some more, truly unable to keep back the smile.

* * *

Midorima was stunned by the sight that was Takao smiling at full force. It somehow managed to make all of the nervousness he'd felt at giving him the toy bird melt away for the moment. And he found himself unbelievably glad that he had gone through with purchasing it.

Takao sat at the far end of his bed and placed the bird on his desk, still smiling to himself and, Shintarou was sure he could hear it,  _humming_  a little. He finally set down his own book bag near the door, where he usually placed it when he was visiting this room. His attention was turned to the bed when he heard two soft pats on the comforter—an invitation. Midorima sat down in the space indicated but it wasn't even a second before Takao grabbed his face and he closed his eyes in anticipation of the kiss he received. Takao coaxed his mouth open with just the slightest bit of pressure and a small sigh, then smoothly slid his tongue inside. Just as Midorima began to reach his hands out to pull Takao in closer, the shorter boy shifted, lifting himself to his knees so his face was higher than Midorima's. The feeling of both of Takao's hands lightly holding onto his face like this and the soft brush of his hair as it fell over him... Shintarou felt totally embarrassed and enraptured at the same time.

When he did finally reach out to hold Takao's waist, he found himself being softly pushed back onto the bed. Takao continued expertly kissing him, soft but full, drawn out kisses, slowly more of them using more and more tongue. Midorima felt Takao take a deep, slightly shaky breath and it was then that Takao's hands left his face... in order to move Midorima's hands further down. He opened his eyes for a brief moment, surprised and unsure of what to do next, with his hands resting on Takao's hips like this—he hoped that Takao would continue to guide him so he wouldn't have to move on his own. But of course, the boy now had his hands caressing Midorima's neck again, leaving the difficult part up to him.

Closing his eyes again, Midorima leaned into the kiss, darting his tongue aggressively back into Takao's mouth. He also let out a heated sigh, plenty frustrated from weeks of just making out. Ignoring his dangerous heart rate, Midorima lowered his hands past just holding onto hips and finally,  _finally_  got a hold on the ass he'd been checking out during every single one of their partings. The denim of Takao's jeans made it difficult to truly feel the shape of it, so Midorima gave it a tight, firm squeeze. Takao sighed into their kiss and pushed Midorima down onto the bed totally.

_Someone appreciated that._

"...Takao," he mumbled.

"Hm?" the boy replied hotly, speaking directly into his mouth. He pulled away slightly, his sharp, silvery eyes clouded.

"What exactly are we?"

"Huh?" Takao snapped out of his apparent haze. "I... I dunno. Nothing. Why?"

"It's kind of important, don't you think?" Midorima took the opportunity to fix his glasses, which he'd felt were more than a little askew. "If we're going to continue to do these sorts of things."

Takao sighed and laughed a little then as he hung over him, looking genuinely confounded. He flopped down on the bed, somehow squeezed in between Midorima and the wall. "Unbelievable."

"Do you have an answer, then?" Midorima asked, pulling him close to him. He  _almost_  regretted bringing this up here and now but... he needed to know if he'd made any sort of progress. And Takao had promised not to run away.

"I—I don't know?" Takao covered his eyes with the back of his hand and Midorima noticed a curious rise in the color of his cheeks. Everything about him was screaming  _Why is he making me decide right now!?_ When he lowered his arm again and looked over at Midorima, the slick bastard turned the tables and asked, "What do  _you_  think we are?"

 _We're—_ Damn. He didn't have an answer either.  _Being on this end of the question is rather uncomfortable.  
_

Takao scrunched up his brow, pouting slightly. "I like you, you like me." Cupping Midorima's face in his hands again, he added, "Isn't that enough?"

Midorima found himself blushing at the charming, melodic tone Takao's voice had taken on accompanied by how gorgeous he looked at the moment. But he had to focus,  _had to_ get his answer.

"It  _is_  enough to an extent. However, just as you have your personal standards, I have my own. I've already been very lenient with you in regards to my own set of rules, but..." Midorima looked away, blushing. "There are some things I only do while in a relationship with someone."

"Hm... really?"

"Yes, really."

"...Like what?"

Midorima's face went redder and hotter. "Like—you know what I mean! Things past what we were just doing—!"

Takao smiled, amused with how embarrassed he was getting, then looked contemplative.

"But it... it's not like we know each other very well or even particularly well. Like, I don't even know your favorite food or—"

"Red bean soup—you brought me some just today." Midorima recalled how Takao had sat down with an extra plate on his tray and proceeded to push a bowl over to him. According to him, the kitchen had just started making it and Takao had managed to get the first bowl for him.

 _'I noticed you eat it a lot,'_  he'd said, with a casual smile.

"So you do know." After a short pause, he added, "Yours is kimchi, isn't it?"

Takao didn't nod right away, a clear indication that he was surprised. Midorima had to hold back a smile.

"We kiss a lot but we haven't ever been on a date," Takao continued, his resolve very obviously not as resilient.

"...Would you like to go on a date?"

"I—" Takao was getting flustered now, no longer looking Midorima in the eye and seemingly trying to shrink away from him even though he was trapped against the wall. "They're not really my thing," he ended up mumbling.

"I had a feeling they might not be... so I never thought to take you on one."

Midorima leaned in, trying to get a clear look at Takao's face. The raven-haired boy purposely moved his head in every direction possible to avoid being seen until finally Midorima caught him by the chin and forced him to look directly at him.

"So what are we? Takao. _"_

The look on Takao's face was unreadable to him.

_What the hell..._

"I—I don't know!" Takao smiled awkwardly. "Friends with benefits?"

"...We are not friends."

" _Mean_ —how can you still say that!?" Takao cried out. Midorima was unsure how much of him was being serious and how much was trying to run away again, in a different way than before. Midorima closed his eyes and sighed, exhausted by this.

"I'm going," he said before kissing Takao one last time. "We'll see each other later."

This was definitely the best answer he would get from him today.  
Key word: 'today.'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> '...We are not friends' is a call back to chapter 13 in case you didn't know what Takao meant by 'how can you still say that'!
> 
> Time-wise, we are currently at late-November/early-December. (Midorima jogged into Takao in the first week of November.) This means winter break's coming up in a few weeks and then the boys will have two whole weeks away from each other.
> 
> Let's see how things go with them until then ;)
> 
> Comments and reviews are muuuch appreciated and super motivating. If you think for even half a second you have something to say, TYPE IT UP, SEND IT IN. I trust you u_u
> 
> See you next time!


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've *just* now realized how many people read this story on AO3. 
> 
> I've been so negligent as far as updating on this site and, worst of all, completely oblivious to the comments and kudos. Thanks so much for the support, guys. Expect Questions to be as up to date on AO3 as it is on FF from this point forward. You're all lovely, enjoy the latest chapter u///u

Takao glanced down at his phone and then looked back up at the building in front of him. He'd nearly gotten lost on his way to this place. The text he'd gotten from Kise earlier in the day had referred to the bar as ' _really easy to find!_ ' but Takao had found himself so frustrated with getting there that he'd almost given up and gone home. There was no questioning it now, though—the name on his phone and the lit-up sign at the side of this building matched: Karma. Apparently the place was a bar most of the week and a nightclub on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights. And if Takao ignored the somewhat sketchy alleyway entrance, the flashy style of the logo matched the rest of the downtown scene pretty well.

He pulled out his phone and shot Kise the message:  _'i'm here, where are you?'_

When Takao received the reply that stated Kise already had a table, he took in a breath and glanced at his surroundings once more.

_Well, I came all this way, didn't I?_

As Takao walked up the steep, narrow stairway that led up to Karma's main entrance, there was a part of him that felt a nagging guilt for going out for drinks (on a Monday night, no less) when he could be preparing for his final exams, but... when Kise texted him that afternoon complaining about studying, he had just about been at his breaking point. And by the time Kise suggested the two of them should unwind by grabbing a drink, Takao's discipline had already left him.

Once he finally reached the top of the stairs and opened the door, the interior of the bar was... nice. The lighting was warm, right at that cozy spot between dim and normal brightness. The place was packed with people who looked to be around his age; they all must have either been students or recent graduates. It took an acute sense of surroundings to notice it, but Takao realized that the male to female ratio apparently leaned a little in his favor—while it was easy to find women among the patrons, it was  _far_ easier to spot guys. As inviting as the atmosphere was, though, Takao still couldn't imagine how the place also functioned as a nightclub... until he noticed there was another flight of stairs leading up to what must have been the roof. The fact that it was Monday explained why there were velvet ropes barring off the first step.

"Takao-kun!"

Takao's attention was snapped away from further observing things when he heard his name being called out. His head turned and, sure enough, there was Kise waving him over to a round table, suited for two people. It wasn't too far off from the bar, either. Takao let out a sigh of relief.

"There you are. You completely lied about this place being close to campus." Takao was complaining but he couldn't help smiling as he sat down across from Kise. He was suddenly so happy to be out of his dorm—and officially comfortable calling Kise a friend.

Kise smiled. "Really? I come here a lot after work."

Takao pouted as he got settled in the seat across from Kise. "And I guess by 'work' you mean modeling jobs in the city?"

"Of course."

"Kise-kun, that's hardly the same as getting here from  _school—_ "

"Oh! Takao-kun, you  _have_ to look at the drink menu here—they have lots of foreign stuff and interesting cocktails! The last time I was here I realized this is probably the kind of place you would like!"

"I—" Takao found himself abruptly distracted from scolding his friend once the menu was shoved in his face. They had a very...  _impressive_  beer list for a bar that looked to function as both a cafe and club. And just as his sights had settled on a particularly enticing item, their server appeared, asking if they were ready to order. He sighed again after the two of them ordered their drinks and their server had finished flirting with Kise.

"I've been studying non-stop—I really needed this."

"I know what you mean! I feel like I'm going crazy," Kise let out a short, woeful sigh in turn and hung his head. "I've been  _so_  worried about these tests."

Takao felt slight amusement at the worry on Kise's face but understood where he was coming from. He was actually

pretty confident he'd be able to survive his exams this time around... but everyone had certain semesters that killed them.

"We're not here to think about school, though," Kise continued, audibly cheering up as their beers arrived, impressively fast. He hummed a thank you to their server, immediately took a gulp, and let out a sigh of refreshment. Takao detected a hint of relief in there, as well.

"Mm, that's true enough," Takao agreed, also thankful that his liquid escape had arrived. He apprehensively took a sip at it and smiled to himself when he liked it.  _Oh, thank_ god, _the trip was worth it._

"I've never seen a beer that dark before," Kise commented. "It almost looks black."

"Oh." Takao looked up from his pint glass and glanced over at Kise's.  _He got a happoshu, didn't he?_  "Yeah, I ordered a stout."

"Really? Can I have a taste?" Kise asked rather eagerly, leaning forward in his seat.

Takao laughed. "Normally I'd say sure but you probably wouldn't like it—it's pretty bitter to most people."

"Ew..." Kise leaned back again. Sipping on his lighter, golden beer, he asked, "So why do you like it?"

"...I don't know. They can be bitter, yeah, but they've also got this rich taste to them... and the flavors in them tend to be hidden underneath a sort of roasted taste? Plus the alcohol content tends to be a higher," he added, taking another sip.

"Hm... so I guess that's the kind of beer you have to develop a taste for?"

Takao shook his head. "No, for me it was like I took a sip and I knew right away. I'm too picky for that 'develop a taste' thing."

Kise sighed again. "So you're saying you actually  _like_  drinking something that tastes burnt?"

"H-hey! I said 'roasted'!"  _Though this one does have more of a burnt taste to it—but it's good!_

"I didn't realize you have such refined taste, Takao-kun." Kise chuckled and Takao definitely didn't miss the slightly mocking tone to the statement. Rolling his eyes, he just continued to drink his beer, firmly set on its taste and value.

The two of them spent their first round talking about what it was like for Kise to be a model and when that topic wore out, it turned into a discussion about a band they discovered they both liked. Once their second round was set on the table, however, Kise steered the talk in another direction.

"So what's been going on with that guy you're kind of into?" Kise asked.

"Hm?"  _That's a random thing to bring up._  "Oh, things have been... interesting."

"Ooh, what does that mean?" Kise's eyes perked, clearly expecting something thrilling.

"We... he _—_ "  _How do I put this?_  "He wants to date me." When Kise's expression didn't change, he added, "...Like,  _actually_  date me. Monogamy and anniversaries... boyfriend type stuff."

Kise perked up even more at that, looking like he might squeal and clap his hands in excitement. "That's  _great!_  So you two are an item now?"

Takao scoffed. "No way."

Midorima hadn't been texting as frequently as before and hadn't been in the cafeteria once since Takao had seen him last. It made sense; the guy studied  _medicine_ , after all _—_ he probably drowned in notes and textbooks during finals. Still, Takao had been thinking on the words, ' _There are some things I only do while in a relationship_ ' without a hot make out or two to distract him from making a decision... it was tough for him.

"Actually..." Takao sighed heavily and took a deep sip from his glass. "I guess I'm having trouble deciding that part."

"Takao-kun... I knew you were the man-eater type after all," Kise teased, a playful lilt in his tone.

"It's really not that!" Takao looked up, insisting. He knew Kise was joking but... somehow this didn't seem like a funny topic. He definitely  _wasn't_  playing Midorima like he did other guys and he felt he had to make that clear, both to himself and anyone who questioned it. But his  _need_  to make that distinction is what bothered him.  _Fuck_ , how much did he like this guy? His eyes moody, Takao simply stated, "I just don't want to get involved like that."

"Hm?" Kise raised an eyebrow, interested. "Why is that?"

Takao stared into the dark liquid in his glass, then gazed back up at Kise. Taking another huge sigh and an even huger swig of his beer, Takao buckled down and said, "Fine _—_ you wanna hear my story?"

Kise smiled and looked completely delighted to hear Takao tell him a juicy tale from his past. ...As the story went on, however, Kise's smile faded and turned into a grimace that dripped with sympathy. The blond was simply looking down into his drink by the end of it.

"So, like, I don't want to _..._ " Takao sighed and stroked a hand through his hair. "I just don't want to get hurt again. ...Not like that." _  
_

"Hm." Kise looked up from his glass again. "Well... now I get why you've wanted to control everything from the start."

That comment snapped Takao out of things and reminded him not only of his surroundings but of the fact that this was  _supposed_  to be a fun outing with a friend.

_God, we were supposed to go out to relieve stress and I'm bringing up Seiji._

"...Sorry about that." Takao shook his head and rest his forehead in his hand, frustrated. "I don't mean to bug you with my stupid love life."

"What? No, it's OK!" Kise waved his hands for emphasis, then smiled. "Besides, mine is kinda messy right now so yours is a nice distraction."

"Oh yeah? Like how?" Takao asked, issuing it as a challenge.

" _Well_ ," Kise started, obviously more than ready to get into this subject. "I have this guy that I like but he may or may not be in love with a mutual friend of ours from high school—he's also pretty undeniably straight, lots of girlfriends, loves talking about sex and stuff. Part of me is sure he likes me, too, and wants to go for it, but another part of me doesn't want to step on our mutual friend's toes because... while it's  _hard_  for me to admit, they  _do_  have a high potential to work out—they've known each other since they were kids and everything. Ah, and my roommate recently confessed to me—"

"Skip it," Takao said, flatly.

"What—'skip it'?" Kise blinked, trying to recover from being interrupted so harshly. "That's not fair!"

"It's too long!" Takao whined.

"But yours was long, too, Takao-kun!" Kise fought back, sounding wounded.

"Somehow yours is stupidly long..."

" _Takao-kun!_ "

"Let's talk about something else! Nothing depressing! Like..." Takao's eyes scanned over the room as he ignored Kise's pleas of injustice and tried to think of another topic. He almost looked back at Kise but his eyes lingered on someone he recognized instead. "Like let's talk about how I know for a fact that guy right there likes his nipples sucked."

"That guy right—" It seemed that Kise caught the rest of his sentence on a delay because he turned into a sputtering mess a little late. "T-Takao-kun, why are you telling me that!?"

Takao laughed out loud. "Are you  _blushing?_ "

"If I am it's because I'm embarrassed on that poor guy's part! Where is this even coming from..."

"So you're saying you don't ever brag about your conquests?" Takao asked, his eyebrow arched in disbelief as he brought his glass up to his lips.

"Not... not really."

_Yeah, right._  Takao smiled against the cold liquid salvation, not believing his companion for one second.

"How many conquests  _do_  you have?" His smile widened in mischief. "Anyone in this room?"

"Are you just trying to get off the topic of romance?"

Takao hoped his face hadn't twitched at the pinpoint accuracy of that observation. Glancing around the room, he asked, "Who do you think is the bigger slut between the two of us?"

Instead of addressing the odd and insistent change of subject, Kise decided to just smile and go with it. "I don't think of myself as a slut."

"Oh yeah? Somehow I don't believe that..."

"Hey!"

"Kise, you're bi so it's gotta be you—and I'm just referring to numbers here."

"What? Yeah, I have more options but—"

"You have more options  _and_  you're a model."

"Takao-kun, you've hooked up with guys I didn't even  _know hooked up with guys._ " Kise laughed. "That should _definitely_ count for double points."

Takao chuckled back. "Well, a lot of them didn't know either."

" _See?!_ " Kise's whole body animated at that sly comment. "How can you insist you're not a man-eater and then say stuff like  _that?_ "

* * *

Takao was finally back at the dorm, settled in his bed and wrapped up in both his comforter and the light buzz from the alcohol. He still felt bubbly from all of the laughter and that made him sure now that hanging out with Kise had been a good idea. After this, it was just going to be studying, exams, papers, and... sexual frustration, it seemed.

Kise and Takao's conversation on their trip back to campus had consisted of a lot of subjects... but it mainly featured them trying to figure out who the bigger slut was between the two of them. No matter what they were talking about—family, movies, hobbies—Takao had somehow managed to bring things back around to sex. It was partially because, hell, he found sex to be an invigorating, fun as hell topic, but... once he'd gotten started at the bar, it had been at the front of his mind, begging relentlessly for attention. It had been months— _plural_ —since he had last gotten laid.

Sex was almost all he could think about. In fact, the only thing he thought about more than sex was... His brow scrunched up in discontent.

_What am I supposed to do about_ him?

Takao liked Midorima. This was undeniable—he liked how confident he was in himself, liked his weird faith in horoscopes, liked how he could never be nice without being mean at the same time. And he liked that surly, uninviting attitude, too—it meant that being close to him made Takao special. There was a lot he liked about him... but getting serious...?

Takao tried to remember what being in a relationship was like and found that... hell, he didn't really  _know_. He'd talked a bunch of bull of only doing serious and not casual but, in truth, his last serious 'relationship' had barely been a proper one. Seiji certainly hadn't been his boyfriend... they hadn't really gone on outings together, never introduced each other to their respective friends. Every aspect of whatever they'd had together had been kept a secret. When Takao tried to think of what a relationship with Midorima could mean, he suddenly started...  _blushing._

_Taking me to that shop he gets those random items from... dinner together... introducing him to people and being his translator... webcam chats over break... late night texting... fooling around in his room, my room, any room I can convince him to fuck me in..._

Takao licked his lips at one particularly enticing thought, suddenly feeling overwhelmed.

_Not sleeping alone anymore..._

Could that be part of it? Would it mean not feeling alone? Not  _having_  to feel alone? Falling asleep next to the warmth of someone you cared about?  
Waking up to find that warmth still there?

"Shit."

Takao shuffled around in bed, momentarily lost in his sheets, until he managed to emerge from his covers and sat up to grab his phone from his desk.

_My hands are moving on their own. Yeah, that's what this is._  Takao assured himself of this blatant lie in order to not back out of pressing send. His message simply read:

_'can we talk when you get the time?'_

Takao bit his lip, feeling all types of conflicted.

_Was that a mistake just now?_  
Am I making a bad call?  
Is it too late at night to send vague messages like that—

His phone vibrated once and its screen lit up. It had taken about thirty seconds for Midorima to respond.

_'I'm helping Fujioka on Thursday. We can talk then.'_

He let out a sigh of relief and opted to throw his phone back on his desk instead of texting anything back. He flopped back under his sheets and closed his eyes—damn, his heartbeat was loud.

_Thursday, huh. What the hell day is it again..._

Takao fell asleep that night wondering what kind of boyfriend Shin-chan would be.

* * *

Takao felt like a true creep—he knew Midorima was in the living room, he'd seen him very clearly when he'd come home after class. The green-eyed giant of his affection had been sitting there with Fujioka in front of some of the biggest textbooks he'd ever seen. Their eyes had locked for a moment before Takao had smiled and given the two of them one of his typical, casual greetings. Possibly  _too_ casual—he  _had_  called him Shin-chan by mistake, warranting a confused look from Fujioka, but what the hell—the whole reason he'd come to the dorm instead of going to the library was to have this talk. Fujioka would find out about them eventually, anyway. In fact, it would probably be funny when it happened.

But now that Takao had been in his bedroom for nearly an hour, his door kept slightly open as an invitation for whenever Midorima visited, he finally remembered how long these tutoring sessions tended to go on for. Upon the realization that he might be waiting for multiple hours, Takao tried to begin studying himself but found his ears overly sensitive to the sound of a certain someone's voice in the other room.

_His voice is damn sexy when he's giving instructions...  
_ _UGH, when are they going to finish?! Fujioka stop learning and just say 'OK, I understand everything now!'_

Takao's loud, impatient thoughts must have been distracting him because it was then that he heard his door close. He whipped his head around and almost let out a sigh of relief. Midorima was standing there, gently placing his bag by the door.

"Finally."

Midorima took a beat before answering with, "I hope you weren't expecting me to take any less care with tutoring just because I was planning to meet with you afterwards."

_So icy cold from the beginning, this guy._

"No, of course not. But you can't blame me for being impatient." Takao smiled, getting up from his desk to meet him. Once he was finally close enough to Midorima, he could see that he looked worn out, especially around the eyes. His smile faded as concern filled him and he reached a hand up to caress his cheek. "Have you been sleeping alright?"

Midorima looked both taken aback by and wary of the kind gesture and the soft tone Takao's voice had suddenly taken on. "O-of course I'm sleeping alright. A proper sleep regimen is an essential part of properly preparing for exams."

"Hm?" Takao examined him further, despite Midorima purposely breaking eye contact to avoid being analyzed. He sighed. "So I guess you're working a little too hard then, huh?"

The look on Midorima's face was indignant at first, nearly looking annoyed at the implication that his workload may be too much for him... but then he sighed softly. "...That is possible." The way his shoulders slumped and he closed his eyes, leaning into Takao's hand, indicated a relief at being able to admit that. It... it was as if no one ever asked him. Takao felt his heart tighten at that possibility and, with that increasingly familiar sensation, he suddenly found himself clamming up. He knew why he'd asked Midorima to meet him. Knew what he had to get the balls up to say. But now that he was experiencing the type of feeling he'd been so accustomed to running away from, he wasn't at all ready to bring it up.

"Takao."

"—Yeah?" he answered, snapping out of his hesitant thoughts.

"May... may I kiss you?" The polite and gentle way Midorima asked combined with the soft look of exhaustion in his eyes made Takao's heart do a flip. He smiled in response.

"You know you never have to ask me that, Shin-chan..."

_OK, problem temporarily solved._

Midorima's hands reached for his hips and Takao's hand moved from cupping Midorima's face to lightly holding his neck, pulling him down to him. When their lips met, after what seemed like ages apart, Midorima let out a soft groan, the sound of it tickling Takao's ears in the most sensual of ways.

_Shit... I'm turned on_  already _._

Takao pulled Midorima in the direction of his bed, sneaking his tongue into the taller boy's mouth as he slowly took step after step backward.

_This..._  this  _is so much easier._

* * *

It really wasn't like Midorima to admit that he was tired. Or to make the first move. But when Takao had looked up at him with all of that concern, he'd felt all of the pretense crack and crumble at the warmth of the hand on his cheek. He'd been purposely keeping his distance, too—yes, mostly due to studying but it was also done to elicit a reaction. To draw him in. Midorima hadn't thought it would work so well and he'd honestly thought that someone as mischievous as Takao might either catch on to what he was up to or, in the worst case, just get mad at losing the attention. If the hungry way Takao was kissing and straddling Midorima right now was any indication, however, things had gone  _exactly_  as he'd hoped they would.

_...I missed him_. That single thought crossed Midorima's mind as he kissed back, his hands venturing under Takao's shirt to feel the warm skin of his back. Takao made a content moan and kissed Midorima harder, pushing his tongue past his teeth. Midorima continued to explore the skin on Takao's back, pushing the boy's shirt up as he did. He soaked in how smooth it was and how lean but firm the muscles of his back were. When Midorima tightened his grip and dragged the tips of his fingers down his back, Takao ended their kiss and took in a sharp breath. He nestled his face into the crook of Midorima's neck and his back arched away from the pressure... leading to the new sensation of a bulge pressing against Midorima's crotch.

Midorima's brow hardened and he felt his whole body heat up. The way Takao breathed against his neck combined with how good that brief friction had felt. And just the fact that his partner was so evidently turned on made him admit that this... this wasn't enough.

"What... what's wrong?" Takao asked, slightly out of breath.

Midorima shook his head.  _How did he even catch that something was wrong..._

The beautiful, raven-haired boy above him tilted his head to the side and sat up. In this position he was sitting on Midorima, his ass mere centimeters away from his crotch and the bulge firmly in Midorima's mind. It was obvious from the pouty look on Takao's face that he didn't believe him.

"What is it?"

"I..." Midorima stopped himself, kind of wanting to lie. He knew from the sharp look in Takao's eyes, though, that he was being read very intently and any lie would be pointed out immediately... so he instead searched for the right thing to say.

__I enjoy kissing you but... I find the increasingly sexual nature of our kisses incredibly frustrating._  
I _really _want to have intercourse with you but I haven't in so long... and you are my first male partner._  
I want to have intercourse with you—right this second, if possible—but I meant it when I said I don't do that outside of relationships.  


None of it sounded right to Midorima so he let his head fall back onto the bed in defeat. The two of them sat there in stubborn silence for a short while—Midorima unsure of how to express himself and Takao waiting on an honest answer. It didn't take long before Takao became fidgety.

"Shin-chan, I have to ask you something." Midorima was thankful for the change of subject and he sat up, hoping like hell his erection wasn't as obvious to Takao as it was to himself. Takao was staring at his chest so intently it almost made him feel as if he wasn't wearing a shirt.

"...What is it?"

Takao's gaze was still on his chest, but now his finger absentmindedly traced down the center of it.

"Do you find me attractive?"

"I—where is that coming from?"  _I don't like where this is going_ , he thought, now regretting not just answering the initial question.

Takao continued tracing his invisible line until he stopped right over Midorima's belly button.

"I, for one, find you very attractive." Takao bit his bottom lip lightly, eyes still fixated on his chest. "I like that you're so tall, you tower over me. I like your long, pretty eyelashes." Takao's hand moved from Midorima's belly to clasp his left hand. He also grooved his hips a little, grinding his ass against the taller boy's crotch. "I like how elegant your fingers are." He moved his ass against him again and now Midorima was sure of two things: he was now  _totally_  hard and there was no way Takao  _hadn't_  felt it. Color began to rise in Midorima's face and he bit his lip, trying to get better control of his heart rate. As if he was actively working against that cause, Takao brought Midorima's hand to his mouth and lightly kissed each of his fingers, right at their tips.

"Alright..." Midorima said, his blushing only getting worse. What he'd meant was 'alright, that's enough.'

"I like your broad shoulders and the hard muscles of your body." Takao breathed out, his voice sounding strange and sensual and his breath warm on Midorima's fingers. His other hand was resting on the taller man's chest, softly groping at it through his shirt. "You seriously look delicious... you're making me hungry."

As soon as those last words poured out of him, Takao finally looked Shintarou in the eyes again. Bringing the fingers he'd just kissed back to his lips, his tongue slowly slipped under Midorima's ring finger, his mouth opening just slightly to coax the rest of it inward.

"W... what are you doing?" Shintarou asked softly, quietly. The heat in his face and his cock both rose.

Instead of answering, Takao just continued to stare at him, dead on, with those sharp, silvery blue eyes of his. He sucked on the finger slowly but firmly, the inside of his mouth hot and unbelievably wet to Shintarou. Then Takao opened his mouth wider, taking in his middle finger, as well—his tongue stroked both of them as if they were one before forcing them apart, licking between the two of them.

While the sensation of his fingers being licked so thoroughly was incredible, Midorima found himself far more intrigued by the face Takao had on. The boy wasn't embarrassed in the least, it didn't look like, and once his index finger joined the fray, the sides of his mouth stretched a little in a way that was downright pornographic. Fascinated by his expression, Midorima found his fingers almost moving on their own—he withdrew all but his middle finger, slowly thrusting it further into Takao's mouth. Though he had been totally quiet (aside from the occasional  _slurp_  his mouth would make), Takao sighed then, in a way that made a bit of his voice pour out, as well. His eyelids were heavy now but he still wouldn't break that piercing eye contact. They stayed like that a little longer, with Midorima alternating fingers and trying to feel up the further reaches of Takao's mouth, until, finally, the dark-haired boy closed his mouth and grinded his hips again.

Midorima was suddenly fully aware of how wet and slick his fingers were... and with what. He'd been in what he could only describe as a haze of some kind but now Takao was looking off to the side, his cheeks faintly red. And Midorima knew why. When he'd moved his hips just then, it had been clear that Takao's cock was at full attention.

_...So now what?_

Takao cleared his throat, still looking off to the side. "Fuck it."

"Excuse me?"

"I said 'fuck it.' I can't hold out anymore, Shin-chan." The faint redness in Takao's cheeks was now an unmistakable blush and he finally looked back at him. "I'm going  _insane_. Do you know how many times I've masturbated this  _week_?"

"How many times you've—?" Midorima's expression turned to one of confusion and he was suddenly back to feeling flustered as he fought back the urge to imagine Takao getting himself off. "What are you talking about?"

Takao's frustrated pout turned into a look of frustrated lust and he shifted himself so that his and Midorima's groins were exactly touching. He rubbed against the other boy firmly and appeared to hold back a moan as Midorima took in a breath.

"This—this is what I'm talking about." Takao bit his lip, his eyes downcast. "You're so goddamn sexy, Shin-chan. I... I can't wait any more. And I know you don't want to, either." His eyes flickered back up and penetrated him with that last remark. Shintarou found every bit of protest leave him when he felt Takao's hand undo the front of his pants. He was so excited that even the drag of the zipper against him as some of the pressure was alleviated caused him to grow  _harder_.

"T-Takao..."

"Shh, Shin-chan." Takao leaned in and kissed him as his hand worked its way into his pants. "Just let me take care of you."

The way he phrased that made Midorima lose all will to fight back. Well, those words in combination with warm, familiar hands groping at his length through his underwear. The way he was being rubbed now was an almost unbearable relief—it was clear Takao was toying with him. The now calm, predatory look in the eyes of this boy that turned him on so badly made his touch that much more erotic. While his breathing had picked up dramatically, Shintarou had done a respectable job of maintaining his composure—or he had until Takao's palm trailed upward and his thumb lightly pressed down on the head of Shintarou's cock. He let out a moan at that; he very nearly couldn't stand the pressure of wet fabric against him like that.

Takao's eyes lit up at the husky groans Midorima now let out with each press and stroke and a smile finally returned to his face. One of pure mischief, of course.

"Do you like that, Shin-chan?" the boy asked, establishing an even firmer grip around him. Midorima scowled in embarrassment at the obvious question and Takao let out a slight chuckle. "I'll take that as a yes. But I've got something more fun in mind."

When the hand left him, Midorima fought letting out a groan of disappointment. Takao's last words hadn't truly registered to him yet and when he reached a hand out to touch Takao's waist, he was surprised when the boy pulled away. Confused, he shifted his support to his elbows and forearms as he watched Takao move to a spot between his legs. Takao clicked his tongue once and shook his head.

"That won't do, Shin-chan."

"...What are you referring to?"

"That's not going to be a comfortable viewing position for you." Takao gestured at the pillows by Shintarou's side. "Sit up against those."

Even though Midorima wasn't fond of being bossed around, especially while being smiled at like that, he took a breath and did as he was told, sitting up more and placing one of the pillows behind his back. Takao looked content with that and reached up for the band of Midorima's boxer briefs. As he pulled them down, Midorima took in a sharp breath and Takao finally broke eye contact, looking enraptured and satisfied.

* * *

Takao had a hard time deciding between praising Shin-chan's cock or choosing to show a silent appreciation. He'd already stared at him for too long now, though, so he simply said, eyes wide in wonder, "Amazing..."

Midorima let out a choked sound at that. One that Takao normally would have laughed at but right now he was too impressed.

_Maybe it's because I haven't seen one in such a long time but... god, his cock is beautiful._

Takao stroked him again, focusing on feeling the girth of him and drawing his fingers over the skin that was growing even more taut over the hard muscle. Kazunari brought his face closer to him, trying as subtly as possible to also soak in the faint, husky scent of Midorima's manhood. Just as his lips parted, he heard a throat being cleared, prompting him to look back up at Shin-chan.

"T-Takao," the boy stammered. "I told you... outside of a proper—"

_Wow, it really takes conviction to try to_ stop  _someone from giving you head._ Takao's lips curled into a smile before he continued his mission and gave a slow, full lick from the base of his cock to the tip. When he got to the slit at the head of Midorima's cock, Takao dipped his tongue against it, an action that immediately resulted in precum leaking out. Takao lapped at it a second time and felt a delightful sense of arousal at the salty taste. He smiled again at the way Shin-chan's words dissolved into nothingness as he stared at him. Was that a bead of sweat forming on his brow? Smiling to himself, he thought,  _no, it's too soon for that._

"Sorry, Shin-chan." Takao's lips brushed against the head of his cock as he spoke. "I didn't mean to interrupt. What were you saying?"

Before he could vocalize an answer, he gave Midorima a few pumps, enough to really affirm how hard he was. Repeating what he had done with Shintarou's finger earlier, he slipped his tongue underneath the head of his cock and slowly drew his penis into his mouth. Takao closed his eyes and moaned softly at the satisfying feeling of a cock in his mouth after so long—and most excitingly, Midorima's cock—and his partner let out a deep groan. Takao wanted to know if he'd thrown his head back in pleasure or if he was bent over, watching him intently but couldn't bring himself to open his eyes just yet. Bobbing his head up and down, he was just so damn  _excited_ —he was sucking off  _Shin-chan._   _Shin-chan_  was in his mouth and rock hard for  _him_.

Takao's head also reeled at the realization—he clearly wasn't the only one who was pent up here. Midorima's cock was rock hard now,  _intimidatingly_  hard, and judging by the way his thighs and hips would tense every so often, it was clear he was keeping himself from thrusting into Takao's mouth. Takao let out a hot sigh, just as turned on by his partner's restraint as he was by the fierce pulsing of the erection he was swallowing up.

Takao finally opened his eyes again and looked Midorima dead center in his. The look on his face surprised Takao... but it was a pleasant surprise. A really sexy one, in fact—he hadn't realized just how arousing a predatory Shin-chan would be. He could  _feel_  the repressed aggression seething underneath the guy's skin... he could feel the way he was eyeing Takao in this bent over position. Shin-chan was picturing him naked right now, he was sure of it... but holding himself back enough that his hands were gripping the sheets instead of reaching to tear his clothes off. Takao released his cock from his mouth, a thin thread of saliva leaving with him.

"You can touch me if you want, Shin-chan," he let him know, a little breathless.

"I won't."

_Well, damn._  Midorima didn't even need to explain; Takao understood.  _That bit of discipline makes up for going back on your word, huh?_  Takao smirked at this conviction in order to mask his own disappointment. "That's fine, too," he mumbled as he lowered himself again.

"I... I'm close." Shintarou said it so softly that if Takao hadn't been so tuned into his voice, he might have missed it. He looked up at him again as focused exclusively on the head.

"Close?"

Midorima shut his eyes and moaned. The delicious sound tickled Takao's ears and he finally became aware—aware of how close  _he_  was.

_God, I'm about to come in my pants from_ giving _a blow job..._ The dirtiness of that realization alone caused him to shut his eyes and brought him even closer. Suddenly the constriction of his pants became friction if he swayed his hips in just the right way. And it was as if Shin-chan's moans were encouraging him, hell,  _asking him_  to come, too.

"Takao..." his strained voice called out. Takao almost thought to answer him but his mouth was too full to form words as he began deep throating him again. Too full and, honestly, too wet. He wanted to open his eyes to see what Shin-chan looked like when he came, but couldn't as he felt himself approaching that line, as well.

When Shintarou's release finally hit him, the moan he let out clearly came from deep within him. Takao let out a moan, too, when the first hot spurt of ejaculate hit the roof of his mouth. The salty taste coated his tongue and Takao blushed furiously... because as he continued to stroke and encourage the rest of Midorima's orgasm into his mouth, he felt his underwear steadily getting stickier. It was almost embarrassing but  _fuck_  if it wasn't hot as hell. He finally felt Midorima's hips relax and the boy's cock fell, almost limp, out of his mouth.

Takao sat up on his knees with his head feeling dizzy from the taste in his mouth. He was panting a little, though it had nothing to do with exhaustion or lack of breath. He finally established eye contact with Midorima again... he looked satisfied. If a little scandalized. Good.

"You... you didn't..." Midorima's sentence trailed off as he tucked himself away and his eyes lowered to the still present bulge in Takao's pants. Before Takao could smirk and seductively state that he nearly  _had_ , Shintarou leaned forward and reached for the button to Takao's jeans.

The blush he'd just felt receding returned to Takao's face. "H-hey, Shin-chan! It's fine, don't— _ah!_ " Takao's entire body shuddered and he grabbed at the collar of Midorima's shirt. " _Fuck!_ " _  
_

The moment Midorima's hand came in contact with the head of Takao's dick, he came. He trembled a second time as a another wave of pleasure hit him. There was a slight hint of surprise in the face Shintarou was wearing now but more than anything, Takao felt as though he was being observed. And then...

_Midorima smirked at him._

"That was fast, wasn't it?"

"What— _excuse me—!?_ "

* * *

"So you didn't answer my question," Takao said. Right now, he was using a towel to wipe Midorima's hand clean, a questionable look on his face. The boy had changed into fresh underwear and shorts and Midorima kind of regretted not sneaking a peek at him as he'd done so.

_Does... does he mean the question about attraction?_ Midorima pushed his glasses up by the bridge, confused that he would even need affirmation at this point.

"I wouldn't do something like this with someone I thought was ugly," he replied.

"Ugh, Shin-chan!" Takao's brow scrunched up and he pouted. "Give me a serious answer!"

_He has to be joking right now._ Midorima sighed.

"Yes, I find you attractive."

"Really?"

Midorima blushed. "...Really."

There was a short silence before Takao laughed a little shakily and lightly pushed Shintarou on the arm.  
"Your answers are too mean, seriously."

"They wouldn't have to be if you didn't ask such obvious questions."

"Sorry, I just had to check... I mean, you've never been with a guy before, so I it's hard to be totally sure if I gross you out or not..." Takao laughed again, though this time it sounded... forced. Even the smile that came with the laugh seemed hesitant.

"Takao—"

_He really needn't worry about that_ , Midorima thought to himself when he remembered how he'd briefly contemplated tasting the ejaculate in his hand before Takao had suddenly wiped it off.

Takao balled up and tossed the soiled towel into his clothes hamper. He then sighed and mumbled, "Seriously, sorry." His face right now was truly pitiable.

"I don't understand." The downcast look in his eyes and the way he bit his lip seemed just...  _wrong_  on him. "Why are you apologizing?"

"'Cause... I dunno." Takao looked away, resembling a kid being scolded. "Don't wanna gross you out or somethin'..." he mumbled.

"I already told you I don't think you're gross."

Takao looked back at him, concern deep in his face. "You say that now, but you still don't  _know_ —I'm your first guy. It could be all fine and fun until, I don't know... until you decide it isn't anymore."

"...So you're saying you don't believe me." Midorima felt anger slowly, but surely, flaring up in him. He wasn't sure when the topic had changed, but clearly this exchange of words wasn't just about sex anymore.

"It's not that... I just... this is why I don't mess with straight guys." Takao crossed his arms, defensively, eyes looking at the ground. "I don't want to get invested in you and then... then have something stupid like the fact that I'm not a girl mess everything up."

_"_ Are you implying that I'm just like other guys, then?"

"I—" Takao cut himself off, interrupting his own objection. Like he didn't want to lie by saying he wasn't implying exactly that.

"Fine." Midorima stood from the bed and headed for the door. He truly couldn't come up with more to say.

_Who on earth does he think he is, just deciding for himself what kind of person I am?  
How does he even know if I'm straight or not? When have we ever talked about that?_

As hard as it was, and despite his anger, Midorima took his time sorting himself out, picking up his bag, and walking to the door because the silence in the room felt heavy. He knew Takao had something to he wanted to say. He could  _feel it_.

_I'm giving you the opportunity to keep me from walking out right now._

The silence persisted. Midorima sucked his teeth in annoyance as he opened the door and left.

_...Idiot._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter's lesson: Never assume you know how a Cancer feels. And then tell them so. Never.  
> (No one likes that shit but Cancer's especially don't.)  
> (Oh, and I guess the other lesson is porters and stouts are awesome, people, go patronize your local bars immediately.)
> 
> WHOA SO GUYS THE CHAPTER'S FINISHED, finally. wow, 7000+ words, I feel dizzy. Sorry it took so long, real life, all that stuff, you get it.
> 
> Hope you liked it! Leave a comment! I'm so happy I finally got to write some smut for this story!
> 
> Next chapter will be the start of winter break. Way to go guys, ending the semester with a fight. (Blame them, not me pls.)


	20. Chapter 20

Takao found himself incapable of total focus on anything. And it was clear from the uncharacteristically quiet dinner table that his family picked up on it.

The lot of them were a chatty family by nature but Kazunari had always been the most talkative. However, a rather unfortunate side effect of his charismatic nature was whenever he was in a normally lively setting just quiet and pushing around the food on his plate like he was now, the cheerfulness in the room seemed to disappear. It was a phenomenon he was aware of and usually tried to remedy by acting like his normal self until he was alone again but... sometimes... well, damn, sometimes he was simply too upset or didn't have the energy.

It was his second night home for winter break and about twelve days since he'd last spoken to Midorima—and that was the reason for his mood that night.

"Kazunari, please eat," his mother pleaded, breaking the silence. "You've lost so much weight at university."

"Alright," he mumbled. He didn't believe for a second that he'd physically changed at all, but he obeyed. His time spent in deep thought came to an end once the wave of nostalgia and instant happiness of a home-cooked meal after months of cafeteria food and snacks hit him. He actually did feel all the negativity leave him and he smiled heartily.

"I really missed Dad's cooking."

His mother let out a loud, dramatic sigh of relief and Kazunari saw his father smile a little. He couldn't see Kazumi's face, but he knew she was probably rolling her eyes in an attempt to hide her own sense of relief.

The mood at dinner lifted and it was a fairly normal night after that. Kazunari spent a large portion of dinner assuring his parents that his classes were going well. He and his little sister ended up taking an excessive amount of time cleaning the dining area and kitchen, using this parent-free moment to catch up. When they were discovered lounging around in an already spotless kitchen and Kazumi was told to go to bed, they continued their conversation in his room until she was busted a second time. Now he lay in his bed, still laughing to himself—she was more level-headed and a tad quieter than he was, but he was sure no one would ever manage to make him laugh as hard as his sister did.

When the residual chuckles eventually died down, however, he felt a profound sense of... loneliness. He felt he shouldn't—he was  _home_  after all—but the feeling was unmistakable. After the tenth call Midorima had undoubtedly screened, that loneliness had crept into his bed and laid with him every night.

_'I don't want to get invested in you and then...'_

He smiled to himself, almost amused with the stupidity of the last words he'd said. He was beyond attached. Clearly invested. Hell, he was in the thick of it now.

 _Isn't that what it usually means if you lose sleep over someone?_ he wondered.

Kazunari took out his phone and slid around to Midorima's contact information. He made a mental note to get a photo for it soon.

_I'll have the chance to, right?_

Shaking that thought off immediately, unwilling to succumb to negativity  _that_  severe just yet, he stared at Shin-chan's number. He had made a habit of doing that every night before going to sleep, always on the verge of pressing the call button but no longer taking action. Not since that tenth call, anyway. He sighed, set the phone down, and turned away in his sheets, waiting for the screen's light to fade off.

Just then his phone made a brief noise, the tone he'd assigned to new messages, and the screen went from dim to bright, lighting up the room.

_No way._

He turned back to his phone, pulse suddenly racing, anxiously hoping it was—no, it was from Kazumi in the other room. He smiled at her message but then frowned.

_Damn. I really hoped that was him._

Takao gritted his teeth and opened up Midorima's contact information again. Sighing hard, he gave in and pressed the call button. He listened to the phone ring, expecting to reach his voicemail yet again.  _Should I leave a message this time? I don't even know what I'd say..._

"Do you have any idea what time it is?"

 _Oh—when did the ringing stop!?_  Takao shot straight up in his bed. "H-hello? Shin-chan?"

There was a heavy sigh on the other end, followed by, "Yes." When Takao still didn't say anything, he said, "What is it?"

"Oh, uh _—_ nothing..."

"You called me at this hour for 'nothing'?"

"No, not like that! What I mean is _—_ well... I wasn't expecting you to pick up."

There was a short silence on Midorima's part. "Well, I did this time. Why are you calling?"

"I..." Takao struggled to force what he felt through a filter. He'd realized by now that he and Shin-chan were both the kind of people far too sensitive to words—Midorima sometimes taking things too literally and Takao being the type to over-analyze every syllable.

Midorima sighed on the other end again. He could tell he was annoyed now, so Takao sped up his efforts.

"I..." Takao closed his eyes and took a deep, measured breath. "Why didn't you answer all those times that I called? Were you that angry?"

"..."

"I was calling to apologize. You had to know that." Takao bit his lip in frustration. "I wanted to see you. And... and talk to you. About school, about break. About us."

"And what about now?"

"Huh?"

"Are you calling to apologize?"

"O—of course!" Takao felt anger flare up in him. "Of  _course I am, why else would I call you at twelve in the morning?!_ "

"Takao—"

"I can understand being angry at me for what I said but... at least give me the chance to say sorry! I really,  _really_ don't like being ignored!"

* * *

 

Shintarou's first two days home had been a bit stressful. While the familiarity of his house and the warm greeting from his sister and mother had helped considerably, the aura coming from his father since he'd arrived had been somewhat... intense. Shintarou realized the man only meant well when he reminded him to focus on his studies, knew that it was fatherly worry that caused him to pry into every detail of his semester. Unfortunately, knowing that hardly made it less tiresome and when he'd finally gotten away from an after-dinner lecture gone extremely long and settled into bed... his phone had rung.

Shintarou would have been surprised at the name that came up if he hadn't been so profoundly annoyed.  _Really, at midnight?_  Of course, when he picked up, the fool stumbled around his words and took long breaks of silence. And of  _course_ , Shintarou was still mad about the last time they'd seen each other. So it wasn't until that last sentence that Midorima thought past the anger.

"I really,  _really_  don't like being ignored!"

Takao's voice had strained significantly in that statement. At first, Midorima thought the boy had some nerve to raise his voice at him while calling to supposedly 'apologize' but—damn. He was right in a way.

"Takao, I... didn't mean to ignore you. It is true that I initially didn't respond out of anger, but..." Midorima licked his lips, uncomfortable putting this into words. "After some time, I grew nervous that you were not calling to apologize after all."

"What? What else would I have been calling for?"

Midorima sat up in his bed and leaned against the headboard. "I worried that you had... given in to your doubts. That you might have been calling to tell me you'd made a mistake... with me." Midorima pursed his lips. "It was too much of a risk for me to answer you, knowing that was a possibility."

"Oh..."

The two of them were silent for some time before Takao sighed lightly.

"I told you I liked you, though... don't be stupid, Shin-chan."

"It's hardly stupid! Do you even remember what you said to me? You were so certain I would change my mind, it was as if my actual thoughts had no bearing." Midorima stared down at his hand. "You don't trust me at all."

"I... That's fair." Takao sighed. "I really hate having this sort of conversation over the phone. I need to see your face. I'm... I'm really sorry, Shin-chan. I didn't even think of it like that. I still hadn't, actually." He cursed under his breath, inaudible to Midorima's ears. "That was really shitty of me."

"It's fine," Midorima forced out, not feeling the sentiment one bit.

"It's  _not_  fine. You have every right to be mad. And to be worried I was calling to..." As the words trailed off, Midorima found himself wishing this conversation was in person, as well. "But I  _do_  trust you. I'm just... scared as hell."

"Why?"

"It's just... experience. Experience taught me not to expect much from people." Takao paused. "But I can't do that with you. I can't... decide how you feel for myself. Especially not when you're right there, showing me and telling me differently. I'm sorry, Shin-chan."

"It's fine." The silence on the other end seemed mournful, almost, which... Shintarou was glad he'd apologized, but he didn't want him to wallow in it. "...Besides," he started, clearing his throat and already blushing at what he was about to say. "After what happened when we last saw each other... there really shouldn't be a question of whether or not I find you attractive."

The silence persisted for another second, leaving Midorima concerned that his little jest had fallen flat. That worry was washed away, however, by the flood of laughter that bubbled out of his phone.

"I— _wow_ , I really didn't expect you to say that!" Takao said, through more laughs. "And shut up about that, anyway..."

"Why? Do you find it embarrassing?" Midorima found that impossible to believe.

"Well, yeah, of course I do! I came so quickly, it was sad..."

Midorima let out a strangled noise, startled by such an upfront statement. "Ah. Right."

"Ha ha, there's no way you forgot that! You even said, 'that was fast, wasn't it?'"

"Y-yes, I remember, Takao. There's no need to get into it in detail..."

Takao laughed again. Damn, leave it to this little imp to turn his own mocking phrase into a weapon used to make him uncomfortable. Once the chuckling subsided, Takao sighed again, sounding relieved.

"Next time, I'll last much longer, you know?" Midorima's ears perked and he felt a chill as Takao's voice dipped in tone but kept its playfulness. "It  _usually_  takes a lot more work to get me off. Do you think you're up to the task, Shin-chan?"

 _He... he needs to stop talking like that_ , Midorima thought, feeling those last words go straight to his dick.

Holding onto his composure, he answered, "There won't be a next time—"

"Unless we're dating, right?"

"...Essentially." Midorima hoped it wasn't obvious how caught off-guard he'd been by that interruption. He really hadn't...  _expected_ Takao to be the one who acknowledged that problem first.

"That reminds me, Shin-chan. You and I haven't gone on a proper date yet."

"I—I thought you said you weren't interested in that."

"I changed my mind. Pretty recently, too. I'm beginning to think it might be kind of nice."

"Ah... I see."  _Does this mean...?_

"All of it. All of it sounds nice."

"All of what?"

Takao chuckled. "Don't worry about it! So, where are we going for our first date?"

* * *

 

Kazunari took a deep breath to try to still his nerves.  _I really shouldn't be nervous_ , he thought. He'd been on dates before. You meet somewhere, get something to eat or drink, chat for a bit, maybe kiss, and go your separate ways. Most of his hook-ups began with dates, after all. And it wasn't as if he was meeting this person for the first time, so why on Earth couldn't he stop fidgeting?

Takao glanced at his phone again—1:47. They were supposed to meet at 2 o'clock. He'd been waiting for twenty minutes now.

 _Shit. Way too early._  He'd been there long enough that the servers were now giving him less than happy looks.  _I guess you can't take up a booth by yourself and only order water for this long without that happening. At least there are two menus at the table so people know why I'm sitting around... Is it obvious I'm waiting for a date? No._

 _...No, it has to be obvious—someone just waiting for a friend doesn't check the time as often as I am._ He glanced down again.  _1:50. And... fuck, why did I put this much effort into my clothes?!_

Originally, he'd put on a comfortable pair of jeans and a band shirt, with a hoodie for good measure. Then Kise had texted him:

_oh my god, you're going on a date with him?! finally! what are you going to wear?_

And it had thrown him for a loop. Every time he'd seen Midorima, he'd been in school clothes or home clothes—things put together for comfort. He realized Midorima had never seen him, like,  _try_  before, and suddenly he was digging through his closet, praying he hadn't left those jeans that made his ass look  _perfect_  at home by accident. After what felt like forever, he finally settled on that perfect pair of dark jeans, tucked neatly into his nicest pair of boots, and a black, form-fitting V-neck t-shirt. Once he was satisfied, he added a simple, silver chain (and saddled in front of his bathroom mirror for a quick selfie—then sent it to Kise with the caption ' _nothing special_ '). Knowing he looked so damn good underneath made wearing his winter coat a lot less annoying than usual.

But now, it just seemed like... like... just  _too much._  He'd even put  _cologne_  on.

 _Damn. And after all that I still got here a half hour early!_ Just as he checked the time again, however, Takao heard a familiar voice.

"I'm meeting someone."

He whipped his head up from his phone and toward the entrance where Midorima Shintarou stood, conversing with the host. Takao's heart leapt for two reasons: one was because his date was finally here and the other was because the boy looked  _incredible, e_ ven more so than usual. Midorima wore a pair of dark fitted pants and a grey sweater over a white dress shirt. What made Takao relieved was the presence of a navy blue tie underneath the sweater and black oxford dress shoes—he wasn't the only one who was trying. Takao smirked to himself as he waved his hand at Midorima, getting his attention. As Midorima excused himself and began walking toward him, Takao felt all of the nervousness disappear and finally turn into excitement.

 _What the hell was I so nervous for? It's Shin-chan, after all._ He smiled openly as the boy took his seat across from him. Midorima smiled back at him, softly, and the two of them sat there for some time, just smiling at one another. Takao blushed a bit and let out a laugh.

"You look well," Midorima said.

"You look  _good_ ," Takao replied. "Seriously."

Midorima blushed. "As do you. You look very, ah..." The words seemed to fall away from his lips as Midorima took a good look at him. Takao smiled even more.

"Thank you."

It was just then that their server arrived, very abruptly asking if they knew what they'd like to drink. The two of them ordered their drinks and Takao (after checking that Midorima was interested, as well) ordered an appetizer he'd been eyeing for the past half hour—at this point he knew exactly what he wanted to eat.

"She was rather rude," Midorima commented.

"Ah, no, she was probably just over-eager. I've been here for a while."

"Long enough that she rushed to take our order?"

"Y—" Takao blushed at the accidental admission. "Yeah."

Midorima scoffed and Takao knew he saw him hide an amused smile.

"I can't believe it's been a whole month since I last saw you," he mused. Takao gave a warm smile then, so glad to be near Midorima again. "I really missed you, you know?"

A blush enveloped Midorima's cheeks and he mumbled, "I missed you, too."

* * *

 

"Heh, I know it's the traditional thing to do but there's really no need to walk me to my dorm." Takao snickered. "It's way corny."

The chill winter air bit at Midorima's ears and fingertips. He flexed his fingers, wishing he could grab a hold of Takao's hand. They were already near Takao's building, which meant the night was about to come to a definitive end. It had been... rather successful, as far as he could tell. Far more fun than any other date he had ever been on. Once Shuutoku's B block came into view, Midorima found himself feeling disappointed. He didn't want this to end. That was the actual reason he was walking Takao to his dorm now; to prolong it for as long as possible.

"We're here," Midorima stated as the two of them stopped in front of the building's entrance.

"Yeah." Takao chuckled. "What, no good night kiss?"

"We're in public, Takao."

"What happened to doing all you can?" Takao teased, laughing further. Then he sighed, putting on an overly disappointed tone. "And here I was thinking it was a perfect date."

The gears in Midorima's mind churned and he reached out, pulling Takao toward him at the waist.

"You're right."

"Heh. What are you—"

Midorima kissed Takao, closing his eyes and dying of relief inside as he did so. The kiss started as gentle but firm and Takao's arms went from uselessly dangling at his sides to holding onto Midorima's arms, pulling him in as close as possible. They closed off their first kiss in almost a month but instead of pulling away, they began another one. Takao sighed against Midorima's mouth and tightened his grip on Midorima's coat. Midorima continued to bend forward, following Takao's lips as the shorter boy's knees went weak and failed to properly support him. When Midorima did finally pull back, Takao's cheeks were red and his eyes were dazed as he stared up at him.

"...So it was a perfect date," he commented softly.

* * *

 

Takao closed the door to his dorm lightly, then leaned against it. He felt his face warm up as he failed to fight back a giddy smile.

 _That was incredible._ He checked the time for the first time in hours—it was ten o'clock at night. How had they done that?

How had they spent eight hours together and made it feel like no time at all?  
All that time... and Takao still found himself wishing it hadn't ended. He could do absolutely nothing to keep the smile off of his face.

Just as he reached behind him and began fumbling with the lock, there were three knocks at the door, sudden and loud enough that they actually startled Takao out of his post-date stupor. Backing up to open the door, he never bothered to check the peephole or ask who it was; he already knew.

Midorima stood in the doorway, ears red from the cold and not from any sort of embarrassment, for once. "I... I almost forgot to ask you." His face wore a determined look but his eyes read as vulnerable. Takao had no clue what this was about but his breath caught in his throat at how important it felt.

"Ask me what?"

"Takao... I like you. A lot. And you like me, as well. And... and I know you have reservations about entering a committed relationship but... after our talk over break and after today... today went so well and I have to ask you."

Takao's breath caught in his throat.  
Midorima swallowed hard.

"Will you go out with me?"

Takao's eyes were wide—he had completely forgotten about this part. His heart was almost still at the expectant look on Midorima's face. Takao's head tilted in exasperation as he let out a soft chuckle and smiled, totally taken aback by such a silly question.

"Yes. Of course."

_This idiot. As if I could ever say no after all of this._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *pant* *wheeze* Here's chapter 20. Jeez... this one took a lot out of me lol. More than any of the other recent chapters, this one probably went through the most rewrites (from material originally written about a year ago, that is).
> 
> It's been a long time since I last updated! I kinda ran out of steam towards the end of things with this one (it's a bit obvious, unfortunately -_-), I just wasn't super concerned about the details of the date, you know? Not when there's so much else to get into (though I do apologize)... and I guess now's a good a time as any:
> 
> !Announcements!  
> \- Questions is going to be 30 chapters in total (possibly 31 if I accidentally pace things too slowly or awkwardly).  
> \- It will be finished this summer. (As in I won't be stretching the next 9 chapters over the rest of the year.) I would guesstimate mid- to late-August for the end of the story.  
> -There's still a lot left plot-wise, so expect a lot less filler and really long chapters.  
> \- Chapter 21 starts with smut! :D
> 
> I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Leave a review, a PM, or bug me on Tumblr!  
> See you next time!


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I took a five month hiatus but now I'm back—with FILTH! Picks up at the very end of Chapter 20.

"Well? What are you doing standing at the door?" When Midorima didn't reply or budge, Takao added, "Come in."

"I _—_ it's late."

 _Modest and rational to a fault_ , is what Kazunari thought then. He crossed his arms lightly and smiled, amused.

"You mean you went through all the work of getting me to say yes and now you won't collect your prize?" Midorima still stood at the main entrance as Takao opened his bedroom's door. "You coming?"

It was a simple fragment of a question, but those two words finally managed to spur Midorima into action. His heart pounded hard in his chest as he locked the front door as he experienced a mix of excitement, anticipation, and a dreadful sense of anxiety. He swallowed—hard.

Wasn't this pace a bit fast? Yes, they'd already done something of this nature but... Midorima hadn't even had the time to properly register the answer he had just received let alone time to prepare himself for... _this._

 _He said yes. No, he said, 'Yes. Of course.'  
_ Takao had even said it calmly and seriously. Sure, it had been accompanied by a light laugh and a smile, but that was Takao's way, wasn't it? The sincerity rang clear.

As soon as Midorima appeared at his doorway, Takao pulled him in and shut the door, pressing himself against the broad body in front of him as he locked it. Thoughts pounded through the taller boy—since he said yes, did that mean he could just touch him as he pleased? Didn't he still need some sort of cue granting permission? As if Takao read his mind, the boy smiled and trailed his fingers up Midorima's chest, lightly brushing over his sweater.

"Just kiss me already," he taunted, a playful chuckle in his voice.

And even though he'd teased him into it, Takao still managed to be surprised when Midorima _did_ quit hesitating and pulled him in for a deep kiss—one that steadily turned into a second, longer kiss. When they pulled away from one another, Takao stared up at Midorima... and then hugged him.

Midorima felt words and questions catch in his throat—it wasn't the first time hugging Takao but something felt very different about this embrace. It lied in the way Takao pressed his entire body against him; the way he pulled at the clothes on his back. Midorima closed his eyes instead of saying anything at all, squeezing him back and lightly resting his chin on Takao's head. He concentrated on the rise and fall of the smaller boy's chest against his and the lingering scent of his shampoo—or maybe it was his conditioner.

This— _this_ right here was the validation Shintarou had hoped for.

One of Takao's hands left his back and Midorima felt him pushing his fingers in between his own. He parted them just enough and then squeezed them tightly so their hands fit together. Just when Midorima was becoming unsure of whether or not he should say something, Takao kissed him again.

While this kiss started off slow and romantic, it quickly took a decidedly breathy and messy turn. Takao's hands moved to the front of Midorima's chest, one of them impatiently tugging at his tie. As Midorima leaned in further to kiss Takao's neck, his grasp moved down from the boy's waist to his ass and the taller boy failed to suppress a hungry groan once he gave it a squeeze. The deep, sultry sound delivered a chill that traveled from right next to Takao's ear to the growing heat in Takao's pants and he ended up letting out a moan in response to it.

Takao smiled again as he felt Midorima's left hand move to the front of his jeans. He moved it slowly, hesitantly—like he was making sure he had permission. Really, there was a large part of Takao that felt like yelling ' _Just fucking touch me!_ ' but this sort of thought-before-pleasure attitude also reminded him of how lucky he was. This was their first time doing _it_ , so of course Midorima wanted to make sure new things he tried were allowed.

The way Midorima traced his hand firmly against his skin, but just barely under his shirt, made Takao's already desperate body even more so. He wasn't even attempting to kiss Midorima anymore; now he just had his head against the guy's chest, his hands on his tie, trying to endure this almost-torture. Midorima's fingers began to undo the button and zipper of Takao's jeans—though the speed he went at seemed deliberately slow. Takao bit his lip and finally murmured, "Shin-chan, please." Midorima felt his erection throb at those pleading words and he obliged him, finally moving his hand to cup Takao's heat. Takao moaned appreciatively, rocking up into the pressure. Midorima kneaded his hand against him once, then pulled away.

"Why'd you stop?" Takao asked, breath heavy and trying not to whine.

"It might be a better idea to do… _this_ … at my dormitory." Midorima pulled Takao in closer, his own bulge pressing against him, and gave the other boy's neck a kiss. "Since I live alone."

Takao hummed against the contact. "Yes, but I have all the stuff we need here. It's fine." When he felt Midorima's brow crease in concern anyway, he added. "We just won't be loud."

It took a bit of self-discipline for Takao not to laugh at that statement immediately after saying it. He was extremely pent up, hadn't had sex in months, and hadn't jacked off nearly as much as he should have during break. Takao knew his own body well—he was pretty sensitive at the moment and if he wasn't careful, he would undoubtedly be super loud to compensate. He sighed in satisfaction and pulled his shirt off when Midorima resumed their tight dance to the bed. His now open jeans didn't prove to be much of a struggle to take off, for once, and once the socks came off, he finally stood in just his underwear—black boxer briefs visibly clinging onto a growing bulge. Midorima gulped, making Takao's heart race harder and he pulled at Midorima's tie again, making a wordless request.

Midorima, with none of the hesitation he approached Takao's body with, pulled off his sweater, then quickly began unbuttoning his shirt. He didn't dare take his eyes off of Takao for one moment—it felt like if he did, a split second of divided attention would render him gone. Plus, as much as they had kissed before today, this was Midorima's first time seeing Takao in such a state of undress. The closest he'd come to this was... Midorima lightly scoffed to himself when he realized it was the day they moved his couch.

"What's funny?" Takao's eyes lit up at a sign of laughter from Midorima.

"Nothing." Midorima answered, down to his underwear, as well. "Just remembered something interesting."

"What was it?" he persisted, sitting then laying down on his bed.

Instead of answering at all, Midorima kissed him. The bed was a bit of a tight fit, but they'd made out like this before—though comparing any of the other times to this moment was ridiculous. Takao had close to no clothes on, for god's sake—if his blood wasn't headed so decidedly in one direction, Midorima would undoubtedly have a nosebleed from the sudden rise in blood pressure. Then, with comfort and swiftness neither of them expected, Midorima positioned himself between Takao's legs and slipped his hand into the boy's underwear.

" _Fuck_ ," Takao hissed the expletive against the other boy's lips. There was no trace of hesitation in the way Midorima stroked at him, no shyness at all. Takao fought to keep his eyes open against the hazy swell of pleasure in his shorts; the heated, green gaze behind the other boy's lenses as he watched him succumb to it helped keep him attentive. Those elegant, manicured fingers he'd lusted after from the beginning were wrapped around him finally—and the satisfaction of that coaxed out a second, quieter, " _Fuck..._ "

Midorima moved his right hand then, outstretched and steadily grazing his way up Takao's abdomen to his chest. Though Midorima was stuck in admiration of Takao's reactions to his steady, drawn-out strokes, his attention was stolen by the shiver that accompanied the casual brush against the boy's left nipple. Midorima's hand paused there and his eyes darted to the erect nub and then back to Takao's face in time to see his eyes shut and his teeth press against his bottom lip. Midorima brushed against it again, this time passing his hand over in a downward direction, from palm to fingertip, before giving it an experimental pinch. Takao cried out then and thrust himself into Midorima's grip for the first time.

"Shin-chan," he panted, opening his eyes. Midorima let go of his nipple and stopped stroking him, as well.

"Yes?" in a much hoarser voice than he'd expected, he managed to choke out the word.

"Normally, I'm a huge fan of foreplay but..." Takao shifted himself so he was sitting upright again, leaning against the headboard. "I've wanted you for the better part of two months." He pulled his boxers down and Midorima instantly took the cue to pull them off the rest of the way. Midorima let them fall to the floor without a second thought as his eyes absorbed the view of a fully naked Takao, an out of character blush settling across his cheeks. Takao lifted his legs closer to him and, with his lips on the verge of speaking again, reached a hand down to his balls and began kneading them.

"Takao..." Midorima forced himself to say something, anything, to remind himself that he was really here, Takao was really doing this, that being _this_ turned on by another human being was really possible. Midorima hooked a few fingers in the waistband of his underwear, but the move to join Takao completely unclothed was interrupted by the desire to kiss him again. This clash of intentions resulted in a pretty awkward attempt at pulling his own briefs off while he practically stumbled into a hard kiss against Takao's lips. Takao chuckled into Midorima's mouth and reached his free arm around the taller boy's neck, just in case he tried to pull back out of embarrassment. Takao smiled wider still, fully embracing the mix of pleasure and contentedness in this moment.

Before he could laugh again, Midorima finally had his underwear off and pushed his tongue back into Takao's mouth again. Wet heat caused him to close his eyes, his breath becoming shaky and his own grip on himself tightening as he panted and gasped his way through this next kiss. Midorima watched him intently and, surprising Takao a little, he pulled the shorter boy by his thighs until he was lying flat on the bed again. Takao opened his eyes to a very serious, predatory look on Midorima's face.

"In my desk—drawer closest to the bed," he said. He understood that look.

Midorima followed his direction immediately, moving back just enough that he could reach the desk from the bed. The first drawer he tried held nothing but a few writing utensils and a calculator, so he tried the next—

_There it is._

This drawer was more of a mess than the last one and there was no organization at all to it, which didn't surprise Midorima. In fact, the only thing that did surprise him was the variety available to him—there were different kinds of lubricant and at least four different brands of condoms... a lot of which were of differing size _._ Midorima's brow tightened and he felt irritation swell up.

He quickly decided on a condom brand he was familiar with as he asked, "Which lubricant do you prefer?"

"The one with the blue cap."

Midorima retrieved the bottle and shut the cabinet, trying to push the questions that had come up elsewhere. _At least for tonight_ , he told himself.

Takao had missed Midorima during the fifteen seconds or so it had taken him to get their prep tools and the realization of that sunk in and made his insides flutter when the taller boy finally hung over him again. He pulled himself off of the mattress, kissing Midorima deeply while reaching for the lube in his hand. He didn't let go, though, when Takao tried to take it, causing him to lay back down.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing at all," Midorima replied softly. Takao worried that he had questions about that drawer—something he figured might happen—but the way Midorima was staring at his body let him think it may be something else.

"C'mon, tell me," Takao said, pulling Midorima down to him for a kiss. After they parted, Midorima spoke.

"I... I wanted to do that. If that is alright with you. I'm inexperienced with... this. What little I do know is from research and I still haven't done all I can to learn about sex with another man." Midorima lifted Takao's legs and trailed his hands down the back of his thighs, his voice dipping low. "Even so, I would like... I want to feel you, Takao."

Takao involuntarily bit his lip at Midorima's words and nodded. He nodded back, grateful, and opened the bottle onto his left hand, taking care not to spill any on the bed. The cool slickness on his fingers worried Midorima for a moment, concerned that the coldness would be unpleasant for Takao. But, trusting Takao would have no problem telling him if he disliked something, Midorima brushed his middle finger against his entrance. Takao made a small sound, almost akin to a whimper but not quite. Midorima slicked the gel around the tight ring of muscles a few times before finally pushing against it. Midorima gasped, shocked at the tightness around his finger, and Takao groaned at the smooth stretch after what seemed like ages.

 _It just_ doesn't _feel as good by yourself... Shit..._

"Are you alright?" Shintarou asked in a breath. Takao just nodded which encouraged him to move his finger even further. _He's so hot._ Of course, Midorima knew it made sense that the inside of Takao would be hot but actually feeling it was another thing entirely. It only took a few thrusts for the resistance against his finger to stop and the new sensation of being sucked in further was incredible.

"Put in another," Takao said, another blush settling across his face, likely due to Midorima's intense staring. Takao moaned at the addition of Midorima's second finger, throwing his head back against his pillow. After a few breaths, any pain left faded distinctly into pleasure, Takao pleaded, "Faster." Moaning when Midorima obliged him, he uttered, "More."

"I... I don't think I should add a third—"

"No, I just mean—mm..." His words faded into a whine as Midorima hazarded a guess at what he meant, placing his right hand firmly on Takao's cock. "You have good instincts, Shin-chan." Takao managed a soft chuckle and bucked into the touch; the movement caused Midorima's fingers to sink in even deeper and it wasn't long before he went back to a soft moan. "Try stretching them apart... your fingers..."

Midorima did exactly that and the sight it made accompanied by the undeniable reaction in Takao's cock brought him crashing to his personal limit. "Takao. Do you think you're... should I prepare you more?"

Takao pulled Midorima down for a kiss, immediately sticking his tongue into the taller boy's mouth and catching his lip in his teeth when they parted again. "I'm ready." Midorima nodded and felt his heart pick up pace again. After withdrawing his fingers, Midorima opened the wrapper and rolled the condom over himself, stiff as a rock. Just as he was about to position himself, Takao's hand touched his dick, leading to a deep groan as the boy slicked more lubricant over him. Then Takao led Midorima to his entrance and chuckled, causing Midorima to freeze entirely.

"What is it?" When Takao's chuckle only died down to a giggle, he asked again. "Why are you laughing?"

"Because," Takao said through a gracious smile, one that really made him look wholly beautiful. "I can't believe how nervous I am. It makes no sense."

Midorima sighed, tension leaving him. "It actually relieves me to know I'm not the only one, then." Takao nodded and though he said nothing before kissing him again, Midorima read the word 'Go' in the look he gave him.

Takao took a sharp breath—this push wasn't as smooth as the push of his fingers was and Takao found himself tensing up.

 _God, has it really been_ that _long? I should have prepped more..._ he thought, gritting his teeth and tightening his arms around the back of Midorima's neck.

The pain of stretching to accommodate Midorima's dick was initially searing... though mercifully, and thanks in part to Midorima's steady pace as he pushed deeper into him, the pain was accompanied by pleasure in the form of thick heat filling him entirely. Takao let out a moan with every inch, it seemed, and it wasn't until Midorima lost sight of himself inside him that he, too, let out a short huff of a groan. He looked up at the face of the boy underneath him—Takao's mouth was open slightly and his hair fell impossibly perfect behind him. His eyes were hazy again and his chest heaved, a movement he could feel from the inside of him. The boy was so tight, Midorima was scared to move.

Takao smiled up at him, brought him down for another kiss, and moaned into his mouth as they both shifted. He then hooked his right leg around Midorima's waist, his foot resting against the small of his back. He mumbled, "You feel amazing," into his ear, a faint smile on him. Midorima kissed him this time.

"So do you."

And with that, Shintarou finally moved, finding himself now speechless at the hot, slick tightness dragging over and around sensitive muscle. Takao gasped at first, then let out a raspy, uncontrolled moan when Midorima sank back into him. It only took a few of these slow, thorough thrusts for Takao to grasp onto Midorima's back, his eyes shut at the hot, raw sensation coming from a guy he actually liked. _That_ was the added thrill to it, for him—doing this with someone you liked was totally different, far different than he'd even realized. But he was realizing it now from the way it seemed his entire body felt Midorima inside of him.

Kazunari let out a particularly loud moan that got both of their attention and Midorima stared at him again, with a look of awe or something far too exaggerative. For a second, Takao thought he was about to get scolded (not that he could bring himself to care at this particular moment)—until Midorima thrust into him, rough and deliberate. A second loud cry poured out of his throat, something he couldn't control but amplified both of their pleasure.

"S-sorry. I'll try to be quieter..." Takao mumbled against Midorima's shoulder. "It's just... so good..."

Midorima groaned at the way Takao's voice sounded breathy, needy, and the way his words would bounce along with the rest of his body against his cock. He picked up the pace by just a beat, letting out another deep groan as he did so.

" _Fuck_ , _Shin-chan,_ " Takao breathed out in a moan. Midorima groaned again, almost _growled_ at hearing his name being moaned. His rhythm was considerably faster than what they'd started with now, to the point that each thrust was punctuated with a definitive _slap_ of skin against skin. Takao wasn't loud anymore, though; it was clear he was holding back.

"Kiss me," he demanded, quiet but commanding at the same time. As Midorima did, Takao mumbled against his tongue, " _Faster..._ " before reaching a hand out to pump at his own erection. Midorima grit his teeth, trying his damnedest to hold onto at least a semblance of restraint—but Takao was basically telling him to let go of any control he might have. With a grunt, he picked up his pace even further. Both boys were panting at this point and although Takao was succeeding in keeping his voice down, he couldn't contain the occasional drawn-out moan as he got closer to his climax. Midorima raised a hand to Takao's chest, rubbing and then pinching his right nipple again. Takao hissed, catching Midorima's bottom lip as he bit back another moan.

 _He's watching my face... he's waiting for me to cum._ Takao smirked at this realization and closed his eyes, tilting his head back and letting himself go. He hadn't wanted to be the first but if Shin-chan wanted to see that badly, he could hardly deny it of him.

"Keep going just like that, Shin-chan." Takao continued to stroke himself until eventually his rhythm matched the pounding he was receiving. His eyes shut tighter as he felt heat flush under the entire map of his skin and the pleasurable build of tension finally released itself in a burst.

"A- _ah!_ " The sound of his orgasm came out stuttered and in multiple syllables as his voice dragged over the jerks his body made. And surely enough, Midorima murmured an expletive to himself, his first time speaking in what felt like ages pulled out of him by the uncoordinated spasms of his lover tightening around him. It was only a second or two after Takao began his orgasm that Midorima followed after him, a low grunt emitting from deep in his throat as he shook and hung low over the other boy. The two of them stayed like that for some time, both of them panting, then breathing their way through the aftershocks.

"Shin-chan?"

"Yes?" Midorima was laying directly on Takao, exhausted, and he expected he would be asked to move now.

"I like you." Takao stated, his hand suddenly caressing Midorima's neck, snaking its way into his hair like he usually did. He kissed him on the cheek. "I like you a lot."

Midorima blushed but allowed himself a smile—it was too tiring to fight one under the current circumstances, anyway.

"I like you, too."

Takao hummed his approval and rubbed his head against Midorima's cheek, similar to a cat begging for attention. But the smile on his face and their general state obviously indicated he was perfectly sated and tended to. Midorima kissed Takao, bracing himself before finally making the move to pull out. He let out a moan as he did so and Takao shuddered silently, a contrast to how things had been just a few minutes ago. After disposing of the condom, Midorima settled in the bed with Takao, purposely making sure he was on the side opposite the wall.

Takao had this... glow about him now. The immediate answer seemed to be the sex they had just engaged in but Shintarou had an inkling that that wasn't all there was to it.

"You're surprisingly demanding during intercourse," Midorima commented, finally settling on a position and pulling the covers over the two of them. He couldn't help but feel it was extremely presumptuous of him to get this comfortable when Takao hadn't said anything about staying over... but he knew that was what Takao would expect anyway.

 _And even if he didn't, nothing short of a nuclear disaster would be able to pull me from his side right now_ , he thought to himself, really meaning it.

Takao laughed. "I guess that's true." He snuggled up close to Midorima, his head resting right against his neck. He placed a soft peck against the skin stretched over his Adam's apple. "Was it bad?"

" _Nothing_ was bad," Midorima immediately asserted. He couldn't see Takao but pulled him in closer to him anyway. "It was—everything was..." He sighed, tired of struggling with his words. " _You_ were perfect."

"Wow, that's way corny, Shin-chan..." Takao snickered but his laugh lacked any sincere jest and he nestled his face closer into him.

Midorima smiled to himself, though he did feel the tug of sleep now. Come to think of it, he'd only gotten back to the dormitories last night. And classes started up again in two days. Just as he was about to wish Takao a good night, the boy beat him to it, fighting back a yawn.

"Good night, Takao."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mm... so I was definitely supposed to have finished writing this at least 3 months ago. Huge, huge, earnest apologies. I really do hate making people wait and I especially hate that to a lot of readers it must have seemed like I gave up on this piece. I'm so close, there's no way I'm EVER giving up. I will, however, stop listing deadlines. I really should have learned by now that I'm not reliable enough for that!
> 
> So what'd you think? Y'know, of the chapter? (And by 'the chapter' I mean 'the smut'. *wink wink*)
> 
> Seriously, I'm terrified that my first chapter back after not publishing anything for five (WOW, FIVE I JUST COUNTED THAT FOR THE FIRST TIME JFC SORRY GUYS) months is 4000 words of filth—this is really not the way to come back, I think. But it is what it is.
> 
> I'll be updating on a more regular schedule now—and by regular I mean no more hiatuses! I've got some personal changes coming up in the new year so it may be rocky, but let's hope not!
> 
> R&R&R&R&R! I love you guys for sticking with this story through all of this! See you in the next one!


	22. Chapter 22

"Kazunari?"

Takao furrowed his brow and made the decision not to lift his head from the pillow. He was far more comfortable with his eyes shut and he was already feeling achey... Seiji hadn't _lied_ to him but god _damn_ his ass hurt way more than he'd thought it would. Would he even be able to walk?

"I know you must be tired but if you fall asleep now, I'll have to leave you here."

Takao finally opened his eyes at that, his heart feeling as though it skipped a beat. He turned to Seiji—surely he was joking, he wouldn't do that, would he? Seiji's back faced him as he sat on the other side of the bed, already dressed and putting his shoes on.

"If you'd like to do that, I can let the concierge know you'll be napping for a bit."

Takao shook his head no, then realized he wouldn't be able to hear that. But he didn't have the energy to speak. Would he really... he would just leave him here like this? Couldn't they just lay there?

Couldn't he wait up for just a minute?

Takao pushed down the hurt and confusion he felt welling up—fine then... it was time to get up. He closed his eyes tightly, one last time, and when he opened his eyes again, the setting was different—no, familiar.

_...Right.  
I'm in my dorm, present day—not some love hotel._

Takao groaned, feeling that just-got-laid soreness he loved starting to kick in in various places as he attempted to stretch. Stretching actually proved much easier than he'd expected, though, since the bed was—

Empty?

A torrent of panic hit Takao and he bolted upright under the covers. He scanned his bedroom frantically.

 _Where is he?_  
_No, don't panic; be reasonable. He's definitely here—somewhere. There's no way he would just leave without waking me first, without a note, without a goodbye._  
_Don't panic. Be logical. Be trusting._  
_He isn't Seiji, he's Shin-chan. And Shin-chan wouldn't—_

"You're awake."

Midorima's deep voice, lightly affected with a morning rasp, pulled Takao out of his thoughts. Takao snapped his head in Midorima's direction and saw him exactly where he should be: in his room, closing the bathroom door in nothing but his underwear. Takao's erratic pulse finally began to even out.

"Do you want to get ready—"

" _No!_ No." Takao smiled as wide as his sleepiness would allow, his heart just about ready to burst, and reached a hand out to Midorima. "Come back to bed."

Takao's smile went down a few notches (from blinding to comfortably warm) as Midorima approached the bed. A part of him was glad he'd been right about Midorima still being here but a large part of the current smile definitely came from lustful admiration of his body. In just boxer briefs, the guy was just short of godly—tall and slightly lean, but with weight in the right places leaving him looking absolutely _sculpted._ Takao almost shook his head at how hot he was. And when he approached the bed again and Takao caught a glimpse at the first signs of facial hair filling in, he nearly swooned.

"Where are your glasses?" Takao asked, honestly not caring where they were. Midorima was absolutely gorgeous with _and_ without them. And those eyelashes... When the glasses weren't interfering, his eyelashes created a perfect, soft frame for Shin-chan's intense stares and gazes. Despite all of that effort Midorima put into his composure and decorum, his eyes spoke volumes about the passionate man he actually was.

"On your desk," he responded, gruff tone still not quite gone from his voice yet. He grasped Takao's hand, pushing his fingers in between the others, and bent forward to give Takao two kisses—the first on his hand and the second on his lips. Takao's eyes fluttered when he closed them for the second kiss and he couldn't help but smile against Midorima's lips.

* * *

A lot of Midorima's life up to this point had been spent in silence—time spent studying, reading, eating. His family members were mild-mannered, with the exception of his mother, so even his home life as a child had consisted of many stretches of time spent in mutual silences.

Midorima hadn't realized there was such a thing as an upbeat silence until right now.

Takao sat across from him at their table, happily stuffing his face with the veritable feast of finger-friendly cafeteria food in front of him while Midorima picked at the food on his own plate. Though neither of them said anything, they would exchange smiles every now and again—Midorima's small and conservative and Takao's wide and cheerful. There were a few times when Takao turned his attention to his food that he would gently kick at Midorima's foot under the table. It was kind of like playing with a temperamental cat on one of its good days—he was in a good enough mood not to protest or flat out kick Takao in the shin, but one time too many would _likely_ be a mistake.

Surely enough, despite the noise of the lunch rush starting up and the discomfort that typically came with unfamiliar situations... Midorima felt content.

"How's your food?" Takao asked. It was the first thing either of them had said in a long time. Midorima looked up, almost startled by the question.

"It's fine." After a slight pause, he added, "How is yours?"

"Fine." Takao ended the word on an unnecessary chuckle and Midorima smiled. Rising from his chair, he announced, "Going to the bathroom real quick. Be right back, Shin-chan!"

"Ah—Okay." That departure actually did take Midorima by surprise and he felt a little lost in the wake of Takao's sudden absence. There was no mistaking it—silence was much better with him around.

 _It looks like he's also finished eating_. _I might as well dispose of these_ —

"Midorimacchi!"

Midorima found himself cringing at the grating noise that was that nickname—it truly was the _only_ one that was worse than 'Shin-chan'. When he looked up, he saw Kise steadily approaching him, a shorter, annoyed-looking guy following closely behind.

"Oi, Kise, I wasn't done talking to you—!"

"Midorimacchi, it's nice to see you so soon after break!" Kise insisted, ignoring his companion's complaints. He seemed to be in an even more chipper mood than usual and Midorima had to fight not to wince again.

"You look well, Kise."

"I'm glad you think so!" Kise beamed at him, placing a hand on the table. "So how was your break?"

"My vacation was fine. Don't you think you're being rude to the person you appear to be dragging along?"

"Huh? Rude to Kasamatsu-senpai?" Kise looked behind him and the face he had when he turned back to Midorima illustrated that he'd been right. "You might have a point... We can talk some other time, though! When are you free next?"

Midorima sighed. "I may have time after my last class on Thursday."

"Nice!"

"Kise..." Kasamatsu growled, his patience wearing even thinner than his face portrayed, apparently.

"Oh, one last thing before I go." Kise leaned in a bit closer to Midorima's ear, his voice down but not necessarily at a whisper. "How are things going with that guy?"

On any other day, Midorima would have huffed in annoyance. May have chastised Kise for nosiness. Told him that he could wait until Thursday. _Certainly_ would have leaned away with enough abruptness to elicit some whining out of his high school friend. But today, the afternoon directly following a day that had gone no less than perfect?

Midorima smiled.

"Things are going very well. Thank you, Kise."

Kise looked stunned, leaning back as his eyes widened. "I-is that so?" He returned the smile though the initial shock was still apparent, making him look almost nervous. "I'm happy to hear that, then, Midorimacchi." With a wink, he ended with, "Well, I've gotta go now! I have a feeling I've kept senpai waiting long enough!"

"Damn straight you have, you bastard."

"I—that's not nice, Kasamatsu-senpai!"

Midorima watched the two of them walk away and, even though it had been a painless encounter, he felt a sense of relief. That sense continued when he saw Takao approaching their table again and he smiled.

Takao smiled back. "Did you miss me?"

"Don't exaggerate, Takao. Self-flattery is unbecoming."

Takao laughed at that. "I'm kind of surprised, I really thought you would have cleared the plates before I got back."

"I hardly see why you would think that."

"Oh, just because you're far more considerate then you let on." Takao was smiling softer now and he began gathering their plates. "And you seem to be in a particularly good mood. For _some_ reason."

"There's nothing different about my mood today," Midorima replied. He stood up and began collecting their glasses and silverware.

Takao laughed again. " _Yeah_ , OK, Shin-chan." They both disposed of their tableware. "Let's get out of here."

"Where are we going?" Midorima asked, pulling out his hand sanitizer. Takao extended his hand as Midorima wiped his own.

"Thank you... and your place." Takao smiled at him and there was a rush in Midorima's veins at the tone he'd switched to. "I'm kind of anxious for round two... aren't you?"

* * *

Two weeks. It'd been two damn near _perfect_ weeks since Midorima asked him out and Takao said yes. In that short time span, school had started back up again and although Takao's second semester schedule left him with a decent amount of free time, the same couldn't be said for his boyfriend—and yet, Midorima still carved time out in his schedule to see him. Takao felt entirely grateful. He was also grateful for how placid Midorima was after sex. Each morning after they'd shared (eight, and Takao was _absolutely_ counting), Midorima was nothing but soft smiles, content gazes, and nuzzling. Their first weeks as a couple had been _dreamlike._

Takao even managed to get him to go out for karaoke—it was just the two of them but he figured he'd be able to work his way up to a group outing eventually. Baby steps; like walking into a pool as opposed to jumping straight in.

"My parents want to meet you, by the way." Takao was flicking through song after song with the remote, trying to form sentences while reading song titles. "I told them you were studying to be a surgeon so my mom got all excited and my dad was like 'I guess that's acceptable.'" Takao lingered over a duet before moving on, coming to the conclusion that Midorima probably didn't know the song. "And Kazumi's been wanting to meet you for a while now." Scrolling back up to the duet, Takao asked, "Hey, Shin-chan, do you know this one?"

"You told them about us?"

Takao nodded, his finger itching to press either 'OK' or 'down'.

"They were... accepting of it?"

"'Accepting'?" Takao nodded again, finally turning his attention away from the screen. Midorima sounded like his _throat_ had gone dry the way he'd dragged that sentence out. "I mean, I'm 20, what exactly are they going to do about it? My mom gets excited easily and my sister knows how long I've liked you. My dad's hard to impress but generally supportive about things, so." He shrugged as an end to that statement.

"I see." Midorima sat next to him, unmoving save for his left hand which rapidly tapped against his knee. There was an unmistakably dark broodiness settling in the room and concern welled up in Takao.

"What's wrong?" he asked, placing the remote back on the table. When the light tapping sound was the only response, Takao grew even more worried. And then the obvious occurred to him.

 _Shit._ "Did you... not want me to tell them?" When he still didn't budge, Takao wrapped himself around Midorima's arm, forcing him to stop fidgeting. "Hey, sorry—I just got really excited and we talk about basically everything in my house." Takao gazed up at Midorima's face and shook his arm a bit, trying to coax out a reaction of _any_ sort.

"Takao, I don't think I can tell my parents about you."

"Huh?"

"I understand that you've taken that risk and... I'm sorry, I'm just not ready."

"Whoa, whoa!" Takao leaned in closer, trying to get a good look at his face. "Why would I expect you to tell your parents?? It's only been two weeks!"

Midorima finally looked at Takao, his face a mix of concern and sadness. "And yet you decided so quickly to come out to your parents."

"I what?"

"I don't want you to think that I'm not taking our relationship seriously, especially since you seem to worry easily."

" _I don't_ —Shin-chan, wait, slow down." When Midorima's mouth opened again, Takao covered it with his hand. "I just told them I have a boyfriend, I didn't _come out_ to them." He removed his hand. The look on Midorima's face _now_ was one of utter confusion.

"But if you told them that—"

"I came out _years_ ago, Shin-chan. Years." Takao smiled, trying not to betray that he was attempting to hold back a chuckle at his boyfriend's state. He held Midorima's face in his hands. "Well, not _that_ many years ago. But yeah... once I told them, I decided I wouldn't hide it from anyone. So basically everyone I know, knows." He smiled then. "Don't worry about me."

There was a bit of silence before Midorima went a little pink and turned away. "Oh."

Takao burst into laughter. "Shin-chan, you're so serious!"

"W-well, the way that you said it—!" Midorima sputtered.

His laughter continued. "I was speaking _so_ casually!"

"Whatever," Midorima mumbled, thoroughly embarrassed.

Once Takao's laughing died down, he asked, "Your parents wouldn't be very happy, would they?"

"It's not as if I've ever discussed that type of thing with them." Midorima adjusted his glasses. "But no, I can't imagine they'd be very accepting—especially Father."

 _Oh, boy_ _—just the fact that he calls his dad 'Father' is enough to know how that would go..._

"It's fine," Takao said, looking into his eyes. "Really." _We don't even know how serious this is yet._

"..."

"What is it now?" Takao hummed, tugging at Midorima's arm again.

"...Thank you for understanding."

"You—!" Takao blushed all at once, taken aback by such an earnest response. Before Midorima could push him away, Takao pounced on him and planted a huge kiss right on his lips. It didn't sedate Midorima so much as cause him to freeze out of surprise and that just made Takao laugh. "I'm really happy right now, do you know that?"

Midorima blushed before murmuring, "Shut up."

"For making me worry so much, you're definitely singing this song with me"

"Ah—but I don't know it."

"That's why I said, 'for making me worry so much.'"

One hilariously awkward pop rendition later, Takao worried that the amount of laughing he'd displayed at Midorima's attempts to sing a song he'd never heard was starting to migrate from playful to excessive territory. Luckily, Midorima was so fixed on getting the song down, it didn't seem he noticed much—and additionally, their order of drinks arrived as soon as the song ended.

"OK, Shin-chan, I _actually_ feel bad about making you do that," Takao remarked through a chuckle.

"I nearly had it..."

Takao laughed again. "You really did! That was actually an impressive job of figuring out how the verses go, all things considered!" Drink in hand, Takao leaned into Midorima. "You're a much better sport than you seem."

"We'll try the song again later."

"That's the spirit!"

The next sentence spilled out of Takao far too fast for him to stop himself. Under normal circumstances, this sentence would have remained a thought— _specifically_ during the first month of dating someone. But after a beer, a song, a fit of laughter, and being around someone that made him so damn happy and comfortable... it just happened.

"My ex would have just given up and wanted to go home."

 _Ah._ Takao's mind went blank for a quick second after realizing what he'd said. _Shit._ He didn't move away but started sipping at his soda, slowly enough that he was barely getting any liquid at all and could draw out the motion for as long as necessary. _Shit._

_Maybe he won't say anything?_

"That's the first time you've mentioned an ex."

_Goddamn it._

"Ha... yeah..." Takao took a real sip of his drink this time. "Well, there's really only the one anyway."

"Hm." The two of them were quiet for a beat, the only sound coming from a music video that played when the menu went idle. "What is he like?"

Takao scoffed but he knew it came off as more dejected than he'd hoped. "Nothing like you." It was quiet for a stretch again so Takao huffed and decided to just... explain a little more. "He—Seiji's the reason I was so hesitant to try things with you. I was very serious about him but he wouldn't commit to me. Our relationship was a total secret—both of us couldn't, and didn't, tell anyone. He said he loved me. A _lot_. But yeah..." Takao chuckled. "Now you know why I put you through all that."

Midorima took Takao's glass from him and set it on the table. He then placed a hand on Takao's face, his thumb lightly caressing his cheek. Takao closed his eyes and let out a breath—he hadn't realized he'd been holding one in.

"You did not 'put me through' anything that wasn't worth it."

Takao opened his eyes. He knew his eyes were betraying him but he didn't let his lip quiver or avert his gaze. "O-OK." Midorima kissed him then and Takao... he felt a lot of things at that moment, with the primary feelings being relief and gratitude. There was also a hint of anxiety—and how could he not feel anxious? He'd spent so much time crafting his armor, building his shields, and fortifying his walls... and Shin-chan was particularly skilled at blowing past his defenses.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm very content with the.. um, content of this chapter, but I worry about the presentation. Sorry it took so long! Plot, plot, plot.  
> Love that if Takao had just been about ten seconds faster in the restroom, a super awkward moment would have ensued.
> 
> Anywho, comment or drop me a message (if you like) and thank you all SO much for your readership and especially for your patience!  
> See you in 23!


	23. Chapter 23

Takao walked a little slower as he approached his dorm, then came to a complete stop. He pulled out his phone, checked the time, and then re-opened his conversation with Shin-chan. The last messages from his boyfriend read:

' _I'm meeting with a former classmate after class today. I expect to be back at the dormitory by 5:00._ '

Then a few minutes later:

' _We can go to that restaurant you mentioned on Monday._ '

Takao _still_ felt delighted at that last message. This was it, this was what it was like to date someone— _cute as hell._ Glancing at the time again, he confirmed that he had an entire hour to kill. He took a deep breath and let out a long exhale, purely for the joy of watching it leave him in the form of vapor.

 _It's officially cold these days... wait... what day is it again?_ _Thursday?_ Takao's spirits lifted considerably as he realized it. He made a sharp turn and walked toward Shuutoku's B block. Once he was inside, he headed down the dorm's hall and turned to face left, where the windows for Shuutoku's recreation room were...

And sure enough, the boys were there.

Takao banged on the glass one time, _hard_ , and nearly cackled in glee at the way Miyaji and Kimura jumped. Ootsubo, hardly ever shaken, smiled and waved before making his way over to open the door—it looked like they were playing pool today.

"Hi, guys! Long time, no see!"

Ootsubo nodded, patting a strong hand on Takao's shoulder that seemed to mean 'welcome', and Kimura openly returned the greeting. Miyaji, it looked like, was suppressing a string of curse words at having been startled. Apparently, it was Ootsubo versus Miyaji in this game of pool with Miyaji up to start his next turn.

"So is Miyaji-san any good at this?" Takao asked.

Kimura scoffed before saying, "He's alright."

"It depends on various factors," Ootsubo added.

Takao could see the irritation welling up on Miyaji's face at the mild smack talk and decided to leave it alone. Sure, the _idea_ of messing up Miyaji's pool game sounded fun—Takao could just imagine how much yelling and denial would ensue—but the man was holding a pool cue, something that far too easily works as a makeshift weapon for Takao's liking.

Instead, he opted for conversation and asked, "So what did you guys get into over break?"

"Miyaji and I went to a concert together," Ootsubo answered.

"What? One of those idol concerts?" When Ootsubo simply smiled and nodded, Takao outright laughed. "Really? You actually went to that with him?"

"Yeah, it was good." Ootsubo laughed. "Although some of Miyaji's friends—"

"They aren't my friends, _"_ Miyaji interjected as he finally took a shot, pocketing one of his billiard balls.

"Right. Some of his Miyu-Miyu fan club members were overly excited."

"Ah," Takao nodded, understanding. "So some of his fan club friends—"

"They _aren't my friends!_ "

"—were being rowdy. That must have been so troublesome for you. Poor Ootsubo-san." When Ootsubo smiled, clearly amused, Takao smiled even more. "What about Kimura-san?"

Kimura shrugged. "Pretty much the same thing I do for every break—help out with the shop. My folks don't really give a damn about supposed vacation time."

Takao winced. "That sounds miserable."

"He makes it sound worse than it is," Ootsubo said. "Your family's customers are mostly kids on errands and grannies."

"It still cuts into my personal time, though, you know?? I have things I want to do, too!"

"Oh, like what?" Takao teased. "Did duty to your family get in the way of meeting up with your girlfriend back home?"

Miyaji scoffed loudly at that, sinking another ball, and Kimura blushed a bit.

"As if you have any room for that kind of attitude, Miyaji!"

"I only need one girl and it's—"

"Miyu-Miyu," the room said in unison.

"Damn straight."

Takao chuckled, never quite over how absolutely shameless Miyaji was about his love for an idol.  
_So Kimura-san has no one, Miyaji-san has his delusions..._

"What about you, Ootsubo-san?" he asked, remembering the suspiciously nice scarf he'd been knitting some time ago.

Kimura rolled his eyes then. "Don't get him started on this."

"I'm seeing someone."

Takao perked up at that. "Really? What's she like?"

Ootsubo seemed to think on that for a moment. "She's very reserved. Very practical. Older."

Miyaji scoffed again. "'Older,' he says."

"Why, is that weird?" Takao asked.

"She's a _professor_ ," Miyaji explained, finally failing to sink another ball into one of the pockets. He handed the pool cue over to Ootsubo as the taller guy approached him. "He's been going on about her for _weeks._ " Takao knew the rest of that sentence was probably ' _and we're sick of hearing about it_ ' but he guessed even Miyaji knew when not to speak his entire mind. And aside from that, Takao's jaw had dropped.

"A professor?" he asked. Ootsubo nodded, looking as calm as ever. Mature, even. Hell, he was definitely the most mature person he'd met since he started school, so him dating someone older—even _professor_ amount older—could make sense.

_But still..._

"Isn't that a bit risky? For both of you?"

Ootsubo still seemed unconcerned. "We should be fine—I've never been in her class. And we aren't telling anyone," he added as he sized up the pool table.

_Present company excluded, apparently._

"All we have to do is keep it quiet for another year. That's not impossible."

"Huh." Takao felt astonished. _So people seriously date their professors... I mean, of course they do, but I guess I never thought I'd know if it happened here._ Ootsubo and Kimura were exchanging words now but Takao wasn't listening.

"What about you, Takao-kun?" "You should leave that teacher alone."

There was a brief, terriblequiet in the room when Takao and Ootsubo's sentences ran into each other. Unable to think of any other solution and absolutely unwilling to address what he'd said and the weird silence it had brought, Takao just... pretended he hadn't said anything at all.

"Oh! Actually, I'm dating someone, too." No one took the bait and asked who; largely due to the awkwardness only having slightly shifted. "The same boy I've been complaining to you guys about."

Ootsubo looked up from the table and, bless his heart, he smiled. "Good for you."

_Oh thank god. No hint of hostility or sarcasm._

"So are you finally gonna tell us who it is?" Kimura asked, picking up on the 'everything's fine' cue. Takao laughed heartily at that one.

"Noo, no, no. No way."

"It's that blond guy, I'm telling you," Miyaji droned, feigning disinterest.

Takao rolled his eyes. "Sure, fine, if that's what you think."

Today must have been one of Miyaji's 'good' pool days—Ootsubo quickly turned the cue back over to him and Miyaji swept the floor with him afterward. Takao practically jumped at the opportunity to face Miyaji when Kimura declined (apparently he'd lost pretty badly before this last game). He'd never played pool before and Miyaji was surprisingly helpful in teaching him the basics but he relied on Kimura and Ootsubo for tips: best ways to hold the cue, making sure to assess the table from all angles, remembering not to accidentally smack someone in the face during your turn. Then, towards what looked like the end of the game, Takao's phone finally went off. 'Finally' wasn't quite the word to describe it, though—Takao was really happy about this random opportunity to catch up with the rec room guys.

' _I'm afraid I'm being held up quite a bit... my apologies.'_

Takao glanced at the time. _Ah, it's already 4:50._ He pouted to himself, completely unwilling to accept waiting any longer.

' _?!_ _where are you? i'll come to you!_ '

' _Delight._ '

That was the cafe right outside of campus, explaining why Midorima had expected to be back so soon.

Miyaji finished the game in as little as five minutes after he'd gotten that first message, finally pocketing the eight ball. Takao thought he'd put up a pretty decent fight for his very first game.

"Guys, I gotta go." There were a few nods and affirmative words uttered at him. As Takao pulled his coat back on, he added, "If you ever want to hang out some other time, let me know. Kimura's got my number."

_I wonder if they'll ever invite me somewhere._

"Date time?" Ootsubo asked, a gentle, knowing smile on his face.

Takao tried, but failed, to hold back the extra wide smile on his face as he withheld his answer and wished them goodbye.

* * *

' _?! where are you? i'll come to you!_ '

Midorima pushed his glasses up, faintly frustrated. He'd hesitated before telling Takao where he was, not because he didn't want to see him... but because he couldn't imagine what Kise and Takao meeting one another would be like.

Actually, that was incorrect. In fact, Midorima could imagine all too well what that meeting would be like. Loud. Giggly. Excessively jovial. The idea of Takao teasingly calling him 'Midorimacchi' made him shudder.

"—and Kasamatsu-senpai yelled at me. He says I'm still playing selfishly..."

"He's coming here," Midorima interrupted. "Apparently."

"Hm? Who?" Kise asked, not often bothered by being cut off.

"That guy I talked about before," Midorima clarified.

Kise's eyes seemed to sparkle and he perked up. " _Really? Your boyfriend?_ So I'll get to meet who it was that converted you?"

"I was not converted to anything!"

Kise laughed, then rest his chin on his hand. "Well, that's fair but I could argue that he opened your eyes, right?"

"Shut up." Midorima back-tracked a bit in order to change subjects, preferably to something Kise would happily drop this topic for. Kise had just been talking about soccer, specifically getting chewed out by his captain and how he worried it might be rooted in him being mad for other reasons since they were roommates. Then before that he'd been talking about getting mixed signals from Aomine. And if he recalled correctly, hadn't his captain confessed to him earlier that year?

" As for your problem with Aomine, I don't understand why you're complaining so much. You know him well enough, I don't know why you expected anything different from him."

"I—what?" Kise's eyes widened at the unexpectedly direct statement. "You were listening?"

"I always listen."

"I guess that's true... But what do you mean? What should I do?"

"Kise," Midorima's patience wore thin on his face, his tone also exasperated. He glanced at his phone again—it had been about ten minutes since Takao's text message. "You can figure it out on your own."

"I could, but I'm too slow, Midorimacchi! What if I take too long to figure it out and miss my chance?" Midorima made it a point not to look at Kise, lest he acknowledge his neediness. But then, a less common, serious tone came out of Kise, as he asked, "Midorimacchi, please. Just give me some straightforward advice. I trust your judgment."

Midorima's raised an eyebrow, genuinely surprised at that. A rare moment of humility from Kise... clearly this triangular mess he'd gotten himself into with Momoi and Aomine— _Aomine of all people_ —must have bothered him more than his cheery demeanor indicated. Midorima looked at Kise, truly looked at him then; saw that he was twiddling his thumbs, hands clasped tight. Midorima sighed, looking away again and resigning to being open with Kise.

"The other one," Midorima offered.

"Huh?"

"Forget Aomine. Focus on the other one. Your roommate—the captain."

"Kasamatsu-senpai?" Kise's eyes went wide for a fraction of a second before he looked away, thinking. "Kasamatsu..."

While he let Kise simmer on his words, he saw someone familiar walk into the storefront window's view, winter jacket zipped up tight, absorbed in his phone, texting. He let out a sigh of relief and pulled out his own phone.

' _You're in the right place._ '

There was a bit of a delay in Takao's reaction, it seemed; though, it was entirely possible he was doing something else on his phone at the moment. Takao then turned toward the window, caught sight of Midorima, and waved. Midorima offered the smallest, subtlest of waves back and only barely succeeded in holding back a faint smile in response to Takao's absolutely beaming one. Takao seemed satisfied anyway, held up one finger, and then held his phone to his ear.

 _He looks... cute... today. For lack of a better word._ Midorima felt a low heat settle underneath his skin, a (hopefully) faint blush settling. There were days when Takao was handsome and there were days that he was cute. Midorima had figured out that the determining factor was almost exclusively his clothes—and today he was wearing his new, dark blue parka he'd been lusting after online for weeks.

 _It goes well with his hair color._  
_Yes, he is decidedly 'cute' today._

"Hm? I wonder what he's doing here."

Midorima returned his attention to Kise, who seemed to be satisfied with whatever amount of thought he'd put into his advice. Now that Takao was finally here, Midorima questioned again how well he would fare between both Kise and Takao's personalities... Yet at the same time, he found himself just wishing it would happen so he could excuse himself and go to dinner already. He hated being late, _hated_ not making good on promises... especially due to something as uncontrollable as a certain model's tendency to exaggerate how nearby he was to certain locations.

"Looks like my friend's outside," Kise noted, his cheery tone back in place. "I wonder if he saw me." Kise pulled out his phone, probably to text that exact question.

Midorima almost asked who he meant before he glanced out the window again and realized there was only one possibility. That struck him as odd—and then him finding it odd struck him as odd. It's a college campus, people just happen to know one another. But Takao and Kise... that seemed weird, too closely related to him, _incestuous_ almost.

Takao pulled his phone away from his ear, continuing to speak into it as he fiddled with the screen. He smiled again, faintly, probably without even realizing, and turned toward the storefront again. Midorima's peripheral vision led him to look at Kise as he waved frantically, then his eyes led him back to Takao as his boyfriend waved back, meeting his old schoolmate's enthusiasm.

_Great._

Takao's lips seemed to read ' _You guys know each other!?_ ' as his index finger rapidly gestured between the two of them at their table. Then Kise whipped his head to Midorima, face totally lit up.

"Do you know him??" he asked, clearly excited to see him.

Midorima nodded. "How do you know him?" He could feel his exhaustion rapidly increasing.

"Wow, that's crazy! It actually started pretty awkward 'cause we kind of hooked up..."

* * *

 _This is_ too _crazy.  
Shin-chan and_ _Kise-kun know each other!?_

"Kazunari-kun? Are you listening to me?"

"Yes! No. Sorry, say that again?" He turned away from the shop window, tuning back into his sister's voice.

A heavy, exaggerated sigh was followed by, "I _said_ I'll be staying at Natsumi's house when I come to visit you."

"Ohh, right, right, right. She's your old middle school friend, right? I didn't know you two kept in touch after she moved." Takao sighed shortly. "Then I guess that means it's all worked out, right?"

"Right."

"So when are you arriving?"

"I haven't chosen a date yet... there are a few things I have to take care of before leaving—"

"Ah, you mean as the president of the creepy shit club?"

"It—it's the _occult science club_."

"Isn't that name in itself a paradox?"

" _I'm working on getting it changed!_ "

Takao laughed, nearly choked at how deliciously agitated his sister was. "Right, right, I forgot."

"Whatever, Kazunari!" She huffed then and Takao could vividly imagine the pout she was giving. "Mom and Dad will let you know the date when I've figured it out."

"Ok, onee-chan."

" _Whatever!_ "

Takao chuckled again at how he hadn't even been granted one of their proper goodbyes.  
Now on to the next thing!

In the brief moment between his sister regaining his attention and seeing his boyfriend sitting next to Kise, Takao had tried to imagine _how on Earth_ these two vastly different creatures knew each other. Everything seemed implausible aside from the two of them being from the same high school and even _that_ seemed crazy! It was _possible_ but _Midorima Shintarou_ and _Kise Ryouta_ —he couldn't imagine them being friends, let alone close enough to have coffee together.

 _But here they are_ , he thought as he opened the cafe doors, welcoming the warmth and aroma of coffee and sweets. He smiled again, unable to keep it from getting super wide, as he headed over to their table. _Frickin' adorable._

"Hi, Shin-chan, Kise-kun! It's fucking _cold out!"_ Takao restrained himself from delivering a peck to Midorima's cheek, but opted to ruffle his hair instead. He noticed that Midorima didn't protest his doing so like usual, but couldn't dwell on it—he _needed_ to know more about this unexpected connection. "I didn't know you two knew each other!"

"'Shin-chan'?" Kise immediately repeated, unintentionally forgoing greeting Takao.

"...That's hardly better than what you call me, Kise," Midorima muttered, smoothing his hair back in place. Takao sat in the seat next to him and his eyes widened, a playful smile on his lips.

"What do you call him?" he asked Kise, nearly starry-eyed.

"Midorimacchi."

" _'_ _Midorimacchi_ '?" Takao stressed, the amusement thick in his voice. Before it could erupt into full-blown laughter, though, Takao realized, "Wait, how come Shin-chan gets a cute nickname?"

"Ah, well, I've known him since high school." ( _Nailed it_ , Takao thought.) "I tend to add -cchi to the names of people I respect."

"Eh..." That definitely didn't sit well with Takao. He mulled it over in his head as he finally pulled his coat off. "So is that your way of saying you don't respect me...? That's pretty rough, I thought we were friends..."

Kise's face twisted into genuine panic and he held his hands out. "We _are_ friends!!"

"I didn't realize I wasn't up to your standards, Kisecchi."

"That's not what I—'Kisecchi'?"

"I add -cchi to the names of people I don't respect."

" _Takao-kun!_ That's so _mean!_ "

"What's mean is that I don't have a -cchi! Why am I just 'Takao-kun'??"

They went on like this for about two minutes before Midorima emitted a sigh that sounded more like a growl. Takao glanced at him and suddenly wondered how he hadn't _felt_ the agitation coming off of him. _Whoa._

"Well, anyway," Takao digressed, satisfied with how much shit he had given Kise. "I guess you never needed to meet him if you've known him longer than I have."

"How do you mean?" Kise asked before taking a sip of his nearly forgotten coffee, grateful Takao had grown bored of throwing him into distress.

"This is him." Takao gave another smile, coy but with an undeniable bashfulness to it.

"'This is him'?" Takao grabbed Midorima's arm just as he lifted it to adjust his glasses. Midorima didn't tell him to get off or utter a word of protest, though; instead he just made a face like he was being bothered and averted his gaze. "Wait, this is him!?"

Takao winked as he cuddled against Midorima's arm.

"Wow! _Wow!_ That's—! Midorimacchi, that's—!" Kise locked eyes with Midorima, totally impressed, excited, _happy_ for him, and then went completely pale. He froze for a moment, before returning to somewhat normal. Takao thought his smile looked off, though... "So you're dating Takao-kun? That's great, Midorimacchi. _Really._ " Midorima stayed quiet and Kise continued with, "Takao-kun, good luck with him—he's a piece of work."

Takao laughed. "Tell me about it!"

"Let's go, Takao."

"Wha—now?"

"Yes." Midorima was on the move now and Takao let him go and began putting his coat back on.

"Well, I guess that's us," he said as he stood. "We'll see you around, Kisecchi!" Midorima was already at the door.

"See you! And _please_ don't start saying that, you'll hurt my feelings."

"Yeah, we'll see how long it takes for my feelings to be unhurt, first."

* * *

It was after dinner that he brought it up.

Dinner had been genuinely impressive—the food had been excellent, the service had been great, and Takao had been thoroughly satiated. Midorima was confident he'd made the right choice in not bringing it up then. Now, though, it was dark, cold, and the quiet this night seemed useful... pensive, somehow. So he waited for a lull in the conversation and brought it up during the short walk back to campus from the bus stop.

"Kise told me about how you first met."

"Did he?" A small chuckle. "Yeah, we were gonna do karaoke but ended up just going to Maji Burger and got along really well." Several long seconds passed of the two of them just walking before Takao stopped in his tracks, stone still. "Oh shit." Midorima stopped and turned to look at him, catching the grimace on his face. " _Shit._ "

He looked positively... _regretful._

"Right."

"I... honestly forgot that happened.. geez." Takao covered his mouth, feeling like an absolute _idiot._

"You just forgot."

"I did." Takao noted the silence and looked up at Midorima, meeting a harsh glare. "I did!"

Midorima scoffed.

"When did he tell you anyway?" he asked, walking again. Midorima followed his lead and resumed walking, as well, before speaking.

"When you were outside the cafe, on the phone."

"When... wait, so you're just bringing this up now?" Takao's brow creased and his eyes narrowed. "Why are you just bringing this up now?"

"We still had dinner."

Takao opened his mouth to say something, then shut it and pouted. No doubt, agreeing with that choice.

"Well, I wasn't trying to keep it from you."

"Weren't you?"

Takao stopped walking again. "I wasn't. I—"

"Just forgot?"

"... _Yes._ " Takao practically growled his answer. Midorima stopped and turned to him again at that tone. "Why are you even mad about this?"

"I'm not mad."

"Yes—yes, you are!" Takao sputtered, the idea of denying it seeming impossible to him. "You're glaring at me so hard, it might kill a lesser man."

Midorima looked at the pavement then. "No, I'm not."

"Oh my god, Shin-chan, it was _so long ago._ " When Midorima only offered silence, Takao continued. "How can you be mad about something from before we were together?"

Midorima stayed quiet but looked up at him again. Takao sure was one to talk, considering how angry _he_ looked right now. When Takao raised his eyebrows at him, as if to say 'W _ell?_ ', he sighed shortly and gazed out at the street. "When did it happen?"

"Before we kissed. Like... that same _week_ , but before we moved the couch." Takao didn't miss Midorima's Adam's apple move, indicating he just swallowed hard.

"...And there was nothing after that—"

" _Nothing._ Nothing." Takao walked up to him and when Midorima kept averting his eyes, he chased after it. Takao insisted, stepping in closer and closer, even rising to the balls of his feet to get Midorima to look him in the eyes. When Midorima finally gave in, he got back on his soles and spoke again. "Don't be mad, ok?"

"I'm not mad," he replied, sounding aggravated at the accusation on top of everything.

"But you _are,_ though."

Midorima's lips pursed. "Fine. And if I am?"

Takao chuckled. "Don't bother lying to me, Shin-chan." After a beat of silence, he asked, seriously, "Why are you mad?" When Midorima scoffed, he rephrased. "Are you jealous?"

"Hmph. Hardly." Midorima looked away again, though it looked to be out of thought instead of avoidance. "It's an uncomfortable situation."

"Yeah..." Takao nodded and placed his hands on Midorima's chest. Midorima turned his attention back to watch Takao as he lightly tugged at his pea coat's lapels. "I really love this coat on you."

Midorima glanced at his boyfriend's hands, then back at his face. He sighed and pulled the hood of Takao's parka up over his head. Takao looked up at him, eyes wide, curious, watching him intently, obviously trying to read his actions.

"I am not angry with you. Or with Kise, for that matter." The latter statement was a bit of a lie, but still mostly truth. "I just... actively try not to think about you being with anyone before me. It's unpleasant." Takao looked down for a moment and Midorima took in the way his eyelashes looked against his cheeks, remembered how elegant and silk-like they were.

"So you _are_ jealous—" Takao's words were cut short by Midorima's lips then, pulled in by his hood and made victim to a hard, deep, possessive kiss that left his body hot and his head light.

"And what if I am?"

Takao entertained the idea of replying. If he'd tried a little harder he would have strung together something playful but reassuring, sly and seductive. Instead, he lifted himself to his toes again, wrapped his arms around Midorima's neck, and kissed him back with everything he had.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it turns out in Japan, four-ball billiards is the most commonly played variation of pool (yotsudama). But I barely know anything about eight-ball and researched after writing that part out, so the inaccuracy will remain!
> 
> One of life's best moments, in my opinion, is exactly what happened here: showing up somewhere and finding out that you and a friend hardcore-share a mutual friend. Well, it's usually one of life's best moments, whereas here it's just awkward af.
> 
> Sorry that it took me 3 months? Life's been... ha... crazy.
> 
> Thanks for reading and see you all next time! Reviews, PMs, and asks are always appreciated!Chapter 24 contains further making up and smut! ;D


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Um, it's been over a year. Sorry about that.
> 
> To any new readers: Hey, welcome! Your timing couldn't be better lol.  
> To all of the old ones: Hey, guys. Thanks for hanging in there.

For as long as he could remember, Midorima had always suffered from the awful habit of staying angry. Sleeping on an issue didn't ever seem to help the initial anger fade; in fact, sometimes that only served to help him rationalize and justify it. And such was the case with this Takao... Kise... _situation_. He hadn't meant it as a lie when he'd told Takao that he wasn't mad at the two of them. That was true, for the most part. But still...

God _damn_ if it wasn't  _just like_ one of his old schoolmates to insert themselves where he _absolutely_ _did not want them._

"Midorima-san?"

"—Yes?" Midorima answered, his train of thought interrupted.

Fujioka peered at him curiously from the other armchair. His girlfriend, Inoue, briefly looked up from her own textbook. Thinking he hadn't explained something thoroughly enough, Midorima immediately reached for the notes in front of him.

"Are you alright?" Fujioka asked.

He froze. That... had not been what he was expecting.

"Yes." That hadn't sounded convincing enough. "Yes, I'm fine."

That was enough to satisfy Inoue's mild interest and she returned her focus to her book. However, Fujioka's brow furrowed for a quick second before he said, "If you say so."

Midorima didn't like that. Was he truly giving off that strong of a negative air that it was distracting Fujioka from his work?

"Why do you ask?" he gave in, sighing. He might as well get this out of the way.

Fujioka placed his pencil on the coffee table, still looking concerned. "You seem distracted. Like something's bothering you. ...I don't know, I hope that isn't weird of me to say."

As Midorima was about to respond, the front door clicked and swung open.

Takao entered the room with the ferocity of a blizzard, noisily kicking the street salt from the bottom of his boots and making a show of shaking the snow off of his parka. He even managed to turn taking his hat off into a spectacle, putting far too much effort into disheveling his hair afterward—although Midorima accepted that, at this point, it was possible he was just overly sensitive to his boyfriend removing articles of clothing.

"Hey, everyone!" Takao turned to them and smiled wide. "Oh, look, it's a meeting of the reserved and demure club."

Fujioka chuckled, Inoue looked unimpressed, and Midorima swallowed and stared. There was a brief moment in which Takao looked directly at him and, in that moment, both his eyes and his smile took on an undeniably warmer tone.

 _He looks gorgeous today_ , he thought.

"Welcome home, Takao."

"Thanks, Fuji-kun. Nice to see you, Inoue-san. Shin- _chan_." That particular utterance of his nickname had been very sweet, _saccharine_ even. Far too telling, Midorima was sure; it might as well have been accompanied by a wink.

...Not that his slight disapproval did anything to keep him from blushing.

Inoue gently placed her textbook on the table, a simple but definitive gesture indicating that Takao's presence was disturbing her. It was quick and _extremely_ subtle, but Midorima knew he caught Takao rolling his eyes.

...Interesting.

Inoue watched Takao move through the living room all the way until his bedroom door closed behind him. It wasn't until then that she finally picked her book up again.

"I seriously can't deal with him," she muttered.

Fujioka sighed lightly. "Ayaka, he's not doing anything to you."

"I can't stand his behavior. He's noisy, impulsive... pushy. Inconsiderate." She flashed a glare at her boyfriend and mumbled, " _Unhygienic._ "

Midorima had a strong feeling that if Takao had been present to hear the way Inoue said that last word, all deadly serious and conspiratorial, he would have laughed out loud.

Still, he never expected to witness animosity toward Takao—easily the most likeable person he knew. While he could certainly see how some aspects of his personality might grate on others, seeing Inoue seething at the mere sight of him was odd. It felt like he was missing some vital information here.

Fujioka sighed a second time, but this time, exasperation was heavy on his breath.

"Let it go, already."

Inoue feigned interest in her book and mumbled, "And you always come to his defense..."

"Really."

Oh.

Oh, no.

They were going to do this with him here?

Midorima leaned back in his seat and away from the table, it being abundantly evident by the surprising change of tone (from _Fujioka_ , of all people) and drawing from his own experience in arguing with ex-girlfriends, that this... _whatever_  they were doing, was going to escalate quickly. However, as annoyed as Midorima was becoming, he also felt painfully curious—what exactly had Takao done? He was, reluctantly, familiar with what transpired with Kise back in October now, with the two of _them_ being walked in on by these two, but was there more to it than that? Inoue had said 'always'...

He pulled out his phone and sent Takao a message that read:

_I'm finished here; these two are on the verge of an argument. Can you meet me at my dorm?_

"Am I wrong?" Inoue asked, placing the book down on the table again. Apparently, all pretense of this being a casual disagreement was now gone. "You're doing it right now, aren't you?"

Midorima quietly began closing his own books and packing away his writing instruments. He could hear Takao's phone go off from inside his room, followed shortly by the faint sound of movement.

"He's my  _friend_ , Ayaka."

Takao's door burst open and shut, followed by the sound of quick footsteps. By the time Midorima heard him say, "Bye, guys!" all he saw was a glimpse of his coat as the front door swung closed. It didn't matter much, though, as Midorima had his things ready to go anyway.

"He's your  _roommate_ ," Inoue continued after a brief pause. "It's not as if he cares about you—he's constantly attaching himself to people he's just met. It's what he  _does._ "

Midorima scoffed.

Inoue and Fujioka both turned to him, apparently caught off-guard by his non-verbal input. They honestly looked like they'd forgotten he was there.

"With all due respect, Inoue-san, you haven't the slightest idea what you're talking about." He stood then, picking up his bag and only faintly wondering if he was being too confrontational. "Fujioka-san, I'll see you next week. Unfortunately, your girlfriend has proven to be rather disruptive to our study session so I would rethink having her join us next time."

As he pulled his coat on at the door, he wished the bickering couple a good day. They were both turning red, but Midorima didn't waste time in discerning what their respective reasons were.

 

* * *

 

"Yay, you're here!" Takao chimed, ecstatic to see Midorima walking down the hallway so soon after he'd arrived at his door. "Hurry, hurry—I wanna make out."

" _Takao._ " Midorima scolded, blushing at how loudly he'd announced his intentions.

"Come on, just get the door open!" Takao insisted, laughing at his boyfriend's reaction.

"Hang up your coat," Midorima ordered as soon as they entered.

"Yes, yes," Takao replied, not interested in being reprimanded for leaving his outerwear draped 'just any old place' again. "So what were Inoue and Fuji-kun fighting about?"

Midorima sighed. "Some sort of power struggle, it seemed." It was a vague answer, but not necessarily untrue; he just didn't want to needlessly stress Takao out with the knowledge that they were fighting about _him_.

Takao laughed.

"I guess I can see that. I think they've been arguing a lot lately. It's a shame."

"Is it?" Midorima hung up his coat. He hadn't missed the total lack of disappointment or sympathy in Takao's last sentence, specifically because it was so strange for him.

"Well... yeah, sure. I mean, I'm not the biggest...  _fan_ of Inoue by any means but it sucks that Fujioka's having a hard time. I'm pretty sure she makes him happy, so I'd rather they work out than not, you know?"

"Hm." Midorima could see what he meant.

"I don't even particularly care that she's a homophobe, either," Takao continued, hanging his coat, as well. "I just wish she wasn't so, like,  _rude_ about it."

Midorima's head whipped in his direction. "What?"

"What?" Takao was placing his boots underneath his coat, as neatly as he could possibly get it. He smiled up at him, as if he'd totally forgotten what he'd last said. Placing his hands on Midorima's chest before trailing them up to his neck, he asked, "Hey, can you catch me?"

"Can I— _?!_ "

Midorima's inquiry was cut short by the sudden weight placed on his shoulders as Takao used them to catapult himself upward. Midorima's hands instinctively, almost in a panic, reached to support him and Takao let out a triumphant laugh.

"Yes! I knew you could do it!"

"Takao,  _warn me_ before you do something so stupid!" Midorima was yelling at him but his eyes didn't quite match the sternness of his voice in terms of intensity, so Takao knew he didn't have to take it seriously. Though he _was_ suddenly grateful the ceilings were so high in this building.

"Shh, Shin-chan..." he cooed before using his new, higher vantage point to kiss him on the lips.

As agitated as Midorima was from being taken off-guard, from being put in a position where he could have  _dropped Takao_ , he had yet to find a level of annoyance that a full feel of Takao's ass didn't alleviate. (He imagined that the day he found that level, the heated sigh that Takao always let out when he grabbed him would do just fine.) He actually quite liked this position, with Takao controlling the kiss but needing him for support... yeah, this worked well for Midorima.

They eventually found their way to his bed, though how long that took was something neither of them could answer accurately. Midorima dropped Takao onto his mattress rather unceremoniously and Takao giggled. Midorima smiled a bit because, honestly, he'd hoped that would win a laugh out of him. Diving in after him, he took a deep inhale of Takao's neck before kissing him again. Takao's breathing was heavier now, something that always happened when Midorima was on top of him like this. He pulled away from him briefly, wanting to take a moment to really soak in the face of the boy he was swiftly falling for.

Takao openly stared back, a smirk just lightly painted on as he stroked Midorima's nape, occasionally playing with the hair that ended there.

"Shin-chan?"

"Yes?"

"...Would you say you're misunderstood a lot?"

Midorima was surprised by that.

Then curious.

"Yes. At times."

"Like how?" Takao asked, that beautiful smile ever-present.

Midorima lowered himself into Takao's neck, breathing in lightly this time before kissing it, taking the moment to think about his answer. "...Often times, others interpret my quiet nature as indifference. Or they tend to think I'm not listening..."

"Mm... you're anything but indifferent." Takao caressed Midorima's hair and closed his eyes. "And you always listen... what else?"

"A certain fool I know was worried I wasn't interested in him simply because I hadn't explicitly explained my sexual orientation to him."

"Psh, I wonder who you could possibly be referring to," Takao joked as Midorima pulled away to look at him. "I'm sorry about that, by the way."

Midorima smiled, clearly amused.

"I know. I'm teasing you."

Takao laughed and kissed him again, using his upward momentum to turn the tables and switch positions. It was something he was good at. As they continued kissing, Takao's hands wandered downward and he began unbuckling Midorima's belt.

"And you?" Midorima asked. After another kiss, he added, "Would you say that you're often misunderstood?"

Takao chuckled lightly. "Sure, I guess so."

"For example...?"

Takao put on a devilish smile, the one that always accompanied impending harassment.

"Well... I unknowingly hooked up with my boyfriend's friend and when he asked me about it..." He kissed him again. "He thought I was trying to hide it."

Midorima felt his face go a little warm. Takao smiled wider, no doubt in satisfaction at the reaction to that little jab.

"And I guess... some people take my friendliness for shallowness." He pulled the belt out of its loops and let it fall to the ground. "Or in Inoue's case, as trying to steal her boyfriend."

Midorima raised an eyebrow.

"Seriously?"

"Seriously."

Midorima was about to comment on how ridiculous that was (Takao interested in Fujioka? Really?) when Takao kissed him again, this time slipping his tongue into his mouth. As soon as the kiss intensified, all thoughts of other beings on this earth evaporated. They went on like this for a long while, wrapped up in wet, languid kissing, and at some point, Midorima managed to pin Takao to the bed again.

"Takao."

"Huh?" he asked as a slight pant, sounding dazed and breathless.

"Were... did I hurt your feelings?"

Takao's eyes narrowed in confusion for a bit, trying to grasp what the hell they'd even been talking about before all the french kissing, but then he understood.

Midorima meant... had he hurt his feelings by accusing him of hiding the Kise thing.

Takao opened his mouth a bit, about to assure him it wasn't a big deal. And it wasn't. A  _big_ deal. Why mention it if it's only bothering him a little?

...Right?

Instead, Takao blushed and nodded, for once fighting the instinct to repress his feelings. He quietly murmured, "Maybe a little."

Midorima feels a tight vice on his heart in that moment, at (what he was sure was) the rare sight of a hurt Takao Kazunari.

And he'd caused that. No matter how minor it was.

He kissed him full on the lips. "I'm sorry."

Takao sighed, almost huffed and averted eye contact. Was his face getting red...?

"I'm sorry, too."

"For what?"

"I don't know... We just seem to be apologizing for a bunch of stuff right now." Takao was definitely pouting now.

_Is this what he looks like when he's embarrassed?_

Midorima let out a light snort of amusement. That made Takao finally look back at him.

" _Don't_ make fun of me. 'Cause then I'll have to start making fun of _you_ and we both know that's a battle you can't win."

"Fine," Midorima conceded, opting to kiss him again instead.

"I'm seri— _ah..._ " The word faded on Takao's lips when Midorima dipped his hips against him. The movement had been so sudden, so smooth—it'd completely caught him off-guard. "K-keep doin' that..." he mumbled.

Midorima silently obeyed and rubbed himself against Takao's crotch again. He was already frustrated with the fabric in the way but relished in the slight tremor that ran through his partner. When Midorima did it again, Takao was noticeably harder than before and he dug his nails into Midorima's shirt a bit. The next grind caused Takao to close his eyes and moan outright. Midorima kissed him then, wasting little time in pushing his tongue past his lips. They kissed and rubbed against one another until their clothes were uncomfortable and their breathing was heavy.

Midorima pulled away to pull Takao's shirt off of him and began trailing kisses down Takao's jaw, then his neck, then along his chest. The lower the kisses got, the longer they lingered, the wetter they were, the more there was a hint of a  _bite_ to them. And, all too sudden, those wet, hot kisses were on Takao's hip bone.

"Have you got something in mind?" Takao asked curiously as Midorima began slowly tugging his pants off, all the while continuing his kisses' journey south.

"Yes," he mumbled against the skin of his pelvis. He was now dangerously close to—he wasn't gonna... was he?

"Are you sure?" Takao asked. He placed a hand on Midorima's head, his fingers combing through green hair.

"Yes. Let's just... let's get under the covers."

"Hm?"

Midorima wouldn't dare admit he was feeling self-conscious about Takao watching his first attempt at... _this._

"Under the covers," he repeated, now rising to tug at the comforter. Takao squirmed out of the way and helped as best he could. Midorima went back to kissing along his hip bone (unwittingly kissing  _just_ around one of his sweet spots) and pulled Takao's pants down the rest of the way.

"I can't lie, I'm pretty excited about this," Takao said, his voice both sensual and playful. His dick jumped a bit in anticipation as Midorima positioned himself between his legs, close enough that Takao could actually feel his breath playing on his skin.

Midorima threw the comforter over himself.

"H-hey!" Takao protested, throwing the cover back up. "What are you doing?"

"I—" Midorima blushed but there was an indignant look in his eyes. "I don't want you to look."

 _He's... not gonna budge on this._ Takao could already tell.

"Fine..." he huffed, more than a little disappointed. Then, remembering that this was Midorima's first time giving a blow job (he was, by now, an expert at  _receiving_ them; Takao had made sure of that), he added, "It's fine. You're gonna be great no matter what."

Midorima gave him an unsure look at those words of encouragement but threw the cover back on anyway. And Takao waited.

_I wonder if he looked up techniques online... Or if he's just gonna go with what I do to—oh my god._

This was definitely  _not_ his technique—Midorima had just gone and fucking  _swallowed him whole._

" _Ah—Shin-chan!_ "

The sudden wet heat that had engulfed him left as quickly as it had appeared.

"What's wrong?" He sounded slightly worried.

"N-n-nothing's wrong!" Takao was honestly pretty embarrassed with how he'd responded. He just... "I just wasn't expecting you to go... straight for the prize like that." He chuckled. "It was intense, I'm fine, I'm fine. Keep going."

There was a brief moment of pause in which Takao could  _feel_ Midorima's skepticism. He began wondering why exactly Midorima had decided to begin his very first blowjob that way—maybe it was to gauge how much he could fit in his mouth at once?

All further speculation was interrupted by Midorima grasping the shaft of his cock in one hand... and the sensation of his head being enveloped by a soft, wet heat.

" _Fuck, that's good_ _..._ " Takao whispered, mostly to himself. Midorima almost definitely heard him, though, as it wasn't until then that he began his movements.

Midorima kept the head in his mouth and sucked lightly at it, letting himself get adjusted to this entirely alien experience. He'd contemplated practicing on a fruit or vegetable of some kind before putting his research into practice, but just the  _idea_ of going to a grocery store with the express purpose of buying phallic produce was mortifying enough. And now that he had Takao in his mouth and was exploring the texture and taste of him for himself, he was glad he hadn't. It just wouldn't have been accurate. Fleshy and firm, but pliable—there was nothing else like it. Not to mention, a cucumber wouldn't have twitched against the roof of his mouth like Takao currently was. He couldn't see his boyfriend's reactions—he couldn't see anything really—but he could feel them in the way his abdominal muscles would clench and roll like a current. He wondered if insisting on being under the sheets like this was a mistake as it was already getting extremely hot and damp in his immediate area and he was still just on the head. But he'd already embarrassed himself a bit insisting on this and it's not like he would pass out from a lack of oxygen. ...Right?

He was torn away from that troubling thought by a soft moan from above the covers, the kind of moan Takao let out when he was getting frustrated with being teased. Just as Takao was about to voice his impatience, Midorima pressed his tongue against his slit causing whatever word he was about to say to wilt into a pathetic moan. A bead of precum leaked out and Midorima lapped it up, then decided that despite its salty, tangy taste it wasn't quite as bad as he'd anticipated. Still not great, but significantly better than he'd feared. He continued his focus on the head of Takao's dick, although now, he paid extra attention to the slit since that had actually caused him to shut up. One of Takao's knees raised and his toes curled into the sheets right before he moaned, " _Shin-chan..._ " sounding _very_ impatient.

Takao finally got what he'd been hoping for, albeit slowly. He shut his eyes as Midorima began moving downward, the movement steady if a little hesitant. His caution was partially due to Takao's earlier reaction but mostly came from trying to adjust his breathing. He stopped when he'd gotten as far as he could without too much discomfort (somewhere past half of his length, it seemed), then began to drag his mouth back upward. Takao let out a sigh then and his leg fell back onto the mattress as his body relaxed. Midorima could feel himself getting harder and hotter with each of Takao's responses—he absolutely loved how expressive he was during sex.

 _He's doing really well_ , was one of the few coherent thoughts going through Takao's mind as Midorima began to blow him in earnest. He finally shut his eyes to the pleasure and reached a hand under the covers to grasp at Midorima's hair. The touch made Midorima slow down for a short moment, but he turned that into pulling back enough to tease Takao's head again. This turned Takao's heavy breathing back into moaning and his grip tightened. Just as he was about to complain again, Midorima swallowed his cock down again—this time, all the way to the base.

" _Fuck!_ " Takao cried, pulling Midorima's hair harder. The feeling was tight on Midorima's scalp but not unpleasant.

He was a little preoccupied with trying to suppress his gag reflex at the moment, anyway. Takao's cock wasn't as long as his but it had its own sort of... girth to it. A thickness that he had to make a conscious effort to get used to.

Luckily, he was adjusting surprisingly well (he'd personally expected to have a bit more trouble with this entire act) and he began moving again after only a few moments of measured breathing. Takao's moans were coming out in heaving sighs and occasionally his hips would buck, tickling the back of Midorima's throat in a way that definitely  _was_ unpleasant—and yet, he endured. He endured because he was certain... 

"I... I'm gonna come..." Takao warned, loosening his grip on Midorima's hair so he could move away. Midorima did pull back a bit, but only to give himself room to redouble his efforts and move faster. Takao threw his head back and moaned again,  _loudly_.

"Sh-Shin-chan! I'm coming!" It was the last warning Takao was capable of giving and when Midorima continued to work him, he decided  _fuck it_ and tightened his fist in his hair again. There was a faint part of him that thought to be careful about how tightly he was holding him, but the pleasure grew and hit a blinding crescendo so sweet that the only senses he had remaining were those of touch and hearing—and all he heard was the sound of his own voice breaking as he came.

Takao's body contorted and shuddered around Midorima and at the last second, he decided to use his free hand to massage Takao's balls as he pumped into his mouth. This was different from what he'd become accustomed to during his time down here; this taste was more bitter than salty—and there was just too much of it at once to just idly swallow it.

Finally, Takao began to come down from his orgasm and he let go of his boyfriend's hair, now feeling dazed and elated but also... restless. He lifted the sheets and Midorima rose back up to face level with him. Takao was about to praise his truly—unexpectedly—competent oral skills when he saw the curious look on his face. Lips pursed, cheeks red, a lost look in his eyes...

_Ah._

_He doesn't know what to do with it_ , he realized.

"C'mere," he mumbled lazily, grasping Midorima behind the neck and pulling him down for a kiss.

Midorima pulled back once, trying to make it clear to Takao that he had, well, semen,  _his semen_ in his mouth—he would probably want to avoid a kiss right now, wouldn't he? Takao insisted, though, and forced their lips to meet, pushing his tongue in between his lips and prying them open wide enough for him to— _Jesus Christ_ _—_ for him to take some of the semen into his _own mouth._ Takao then pushed it back into Midorima's mouth before kissing him some more and then taking it back into his mouth. He continued to pass it back and forth between them for a few seconds before finally swallowing the brunt of it. Midorima could hardly tell how much of what was left on his tongue was cum and how much was spit but he just swallowed it anyway—mostly as an involuntary reaction to the filthiest kiss he could have ever imagined.

 

"F... _fuck..._ "

 

Takao's eyes widened at the expletive and he grinned, lips still glistening with—what, saliva? _Cum?_

"You liked that?"

Midorima blushed furiously and nodded, struggling to think straight. It had been absolutely obscene, borderline unsanitary, but... the state his trousers were in made lying totally pointless. It had obviously been a rhetorical question and, even if it hadn't, Midorima's erection was about ready to tear a hole in the fabric of his pants. Takao leaned up and kissed him again, only on the lips at first, then slowly pushed his tongue in again. The taste of his semen returned to Midorima's tongue and he rushed to finally unzip his pants. Takao ended the kiss with a laugh.

"I'm not going anywhere, Shin-chan."

Midorima tried to form words but just growled in response to that, biting at the skin on Takao's neck and winning a moan out of him. He fought his shirt, pants, and underwear off and Takao helped, just as impatiently. Before placing his glasses on his desk, Midorima retrieved lube and a condom from one of the desk drawers.

"Just go straight to two," Takao murmured, breathy and urgent. Midorima raised an eyebrow.

"Are you sure?"

Takao nodded. "Yeah. I want you inside me. Now."

Midorima swallowed hard at that statement, growing harder still at his honesty. "Lay back," he instructed. 

Takao nodded, lips parted and eyes focused on Midorima's hands as he opened the bottle and slicked the gel over his fingers. Midorima did as was requested of him and immediately sunk his index and middle finger into Takao's ass. He moaned at the suddenness of it, the raw feeling of Midorima's long fingers as deep as they could go inside him. Midorima leaned down and kissed him, not to distract him from his fingers, but simply because the sexy, needy look he'd shot up at him once his fingers had sunken into him made it impossible not to. As they kissed, Midorima made a real show of his skills for multi-tasking by using his right hand to knead Takao's balls, then switched to tentatively stroking him again. Takao moaned a little in protest, his breath hitching at the hand on his overly sensitive dick, but he relaxed when Midorima slowed his strokes down even further. Midorima's hands worked separately of each other—the right hand slow and careful in order to avoid overstimulation and the left steadily increasing its pace, even adding a third finger. Takao ended their kiss and took a deep breath, shutting his eyes.

"Y-you're so...  _so good_ with your hands."

"I should hope so," Midorima replied, chuckling.

"You're getting way, _ah_... _way_ too cocky, you know that?" Then Takao threw his head back and moaned, loud and long. " _Fuck_ ,  _Shin-chan—_ " Midorima kissed him again just as Takao was about to say 'kiss me', leaving him thoroughly impressed by how quickly Midorima had learned his sexual cues. After giving his entrance a few more long, methodical strokes, Midorima finally withdrew his fingers causing Takao to let out a heaving sigh. He wasted little time in getting his condom on and finally,  _finally_ aligned himself with Takao's hole and pushed.

" _Ah—y-yes!_ " Takao moaned, throwing his head back hard against the pillow. His chest heaved and he grasped at the sheets by his head as Midorima pushed deeper, his every nerve on fire with lust, satisfaction, and pleasure.

"A-are you alright?" Midorima asked. Takao had certainly shouted 'yes' but the reaction just now had been so... _intense_ it actually worried him.

Takao nodded frantically, his brow knit tightly. Opening his eyes, he said, "Fuck me. Do it. Fuck yes..."

Midorima leaned down and bit Takao's neck, barely suppressing a growl. "Say that again."

"Fuck me. Fuck me, Shin-chan— _ahh!_ "

Even though he'd explicitly asked for it, he still wasn't prepared for how Midorima rutting into him most of the way would feel. Maybe it was having come not so long ago that was setting Kazunari off like this or maybe it was the brief attention Midorima had paid to his prostate but whatever it was... his boyfriend was plowing into him roughly and expertly and it was driving him _mad._  Each time he caught his breath, Midorima drove it back out of him as a moan with another hard thrust. He wasn't even sure what he was saying anymore, something about it being deep and big and that he wanted it harder and even faster. Midorima tore himself away from Takao's neck to kiss him, driving his tongue in and simultaneously shutting him up and forcing all sorts of indecent sounds out of him. Midorima lifts away from him then and rubs his hands over Takao, taking in every spasm rippling through his lightly toned body before grabbing both of his ankles, pulling his legs as wide apart as he could get them. Takao was hard again by now and judging by how incoherent he was being, probably close to coming again. When Midorima unwittingly hit his prostate on one of his deeper thrusts, Takao fucking _lost it_.

Seriously, there was no way the entire floor hadn't heard him scream.

" _Takao!_ Quiet down, you're being.. far too... unh.. loud..."

"I can't!" Takao says, his voice a pitch higher and sweeter than Midorima had ever heard it to date. " _Ah!_ Y-you keep—keep hitting— _fuck!_ "

And then he just... came. Takao's back arched off of the bed and he moaned with every exhalation as he was pounded into orgasm. His body jerked completely out of his control and every single part of his body that could feel pleasure seemed to be firing off, all the way to his scalp, despite his penis not emitting a single drop of ejaculate. Midorima probably wouldn't have recognized this dry orgasm for what it was if it weren't for the intense arrhythmic spasming of the hot flesh around his dick. That, and the ecstatic moaning reaching its loudest point so far and the expression on Takao's face. Midorima continued driving into him but it was just a few more seconds before he lost it himself, letting Takao's orgasmic convulsing massage him into his own release. 

It wasn't until Midorima started coming down from his high that he noticed two things. The first was that, at some point, Takao had grabbed onto his hips for support and was now holding onto him so hard his skin would  _definitely_ bruise. The second was that Takao was still breathing heavily and currents would run through his body in small waves. Midorima bent down and kissed him, letting one of his hands comb through his hair while the other firmly held onto his side. He wasn't sure if he was helping but it seemed like the right thing to do. And he kept kissing him, slow and lazy, until Takao regained control of himself.

"Are you alright?" he asked, searching his eyes for an answer. Takao's eyes were regaining their clarity and he nodded.

"Yeah... yeah... I just... came r- _really_ hard..."

Midorima let out a short chuckle at his answer. "I saw that."

Takao let out a large sigh that turned into a bit of a moan at the sensation of his boyfriend pulling out. Once he was out, Midorima fell back onto the bed and exhaled as well. Takao closed his eyes and took in a deep, shaky breath, trying to come back to his senses. Midorima reached for the towel he now kept near his bed specifically for his boyfriend's visits. His fingers trembled slightly as he gingerly disposed of the condom and wiped himself off. Takao sighed again, then broke the silence.

"That was amazing," he said, still catching his breath.

"...It was." Without warning, Midorima turned on his side and pulled Takao into him, making him the little spoon. "You were incredible..." he mumbled as he pressed a soft kiss against Takao's shoulder.

"You, too... Shin-chan... I think... I..." Takao tensed up, realizing what he almost said.

 

What he  _wanted_ to say.

 

"Hm?" Midorima quietly mumbled against his skin.

 

"N-nothing," Takao said, closing his eyes and pulling one of Shintarou's arms around his waist. "I'm fucking beat..."

He pushed the thought from his mind for now.

He couldn't complicate this.

Not yet.

 

* * *

 

Takao seriously regretted getting up.

Shin-chan had to leave him behind earlier that morning due to some... some school-related shit. It was a Saturday and it'd been so early he'd honestly missed most of what he'd said when he woke him up to say goodbye. All he really remembered were the good morning and see you later kisses, both of which he'd received while mostly asleep. While Shin-chan had made it clear (in his signature convoluted, catty way) that Takao was free to stay there as long as he wanted, he'd gotten antsy waiting around for his boyfriend to get home without any of his regular forms of entertainment. So instead, he'd made the bed and left at a respectable 10:36 a.m. He was stifling a yawn after having just locked the door when someone called his name.

"Oh! Takao-kun."

"Hm—Ootsubo-san!"

"Good morning."

"Morning! Where are you headed?" he asked, beaming. What a pleasant surprise.

"On my way to see what the cafeteria has to offer."

"Oh, god, food sounds amazing right now... Do you mind if I come along?"

Ootsubo smiled and nodded. "Of course not."

"Awesome!" Takao chirped already leading the way.

"And you?"

"Hm?"

"Before you decided to have breakfast, where were you headed? You don't live here."

Oh. "Ah..."

"But your boyfriend does," he supposed, still smiling amicably.

Takao rolled his eyes. "Fine, _yes._ " He realized he never failed to be surprised by how nosy Ootsubo was. Then again, he'd been curious for a while now and these were pretty incriminating circumstances.

Ootsubo laughed. "So that must have been you last night."

Takao laughed, too. "Ha ha, yeah..."

 

Wait.

 

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Well, the walls of this building are some of the oldest on campus. There seemed to be someone having a  _lot_ of fun last night and I wouldn't be surprised if the whole building heard it."

"W-w-what??" Takao felt all the color drain from his face. No. No no no no nonono. " _What!?_ " he yelled, stopping in his tracks.

Ootsubo grinned wider. "I'm just kidding, Takao."

"Y-you are?" Takao tried to smile but there was something in Ootsubo's eyes... a glint of mischief that told him...

 

Yeah... no.

No.

He was not, _at all_ , kidding.

 

"Oh my god, you're totally serious!  _Ootsubo-san, you're serious aren't you?!_ " he shrieked, his face now burning bright red.

"Come on, they're only serving breakfast for a little while longer."

"N-n-no, I'm good! Th-thanks though, I'llseey _ouaroundlaterbye!_ " The last part of his sentence was said as quickly as humanly possible as he sprinted past Ootsubo and out the main entrance. Hell, he didn't even stop running until he'd made it to the safety of his own dorm, the safety of knowing that no one  _here_ had heard him getting the brains fucked out of him last night.

Fuck!

_Fuck!_

Takao pulled his phone out of his pocket and began typing frantically as he stormed down the hall of his dormitory. At this point, he wasn't sure if his embarrassment was fueling this adrenaline rush or if it was the other way around.

' _we are never, i repeat NEVER having sex at your place again!'_

' _NEVER!_ '

By the time he got back to his bedroom, his phone went off.

' _Where is this coming from_ '

' _you fucked me so hard i nearly DIED and EVERYONE HEARD IT_ '

It was hours before Shin-chan got back to him again and the answer he got left Takao wondering if he should be doubled over laughing, just plain shocked, or super turned on. At the moment, he was all three things.

 

' _Then I'll make sure to fuck you harder next time._ '

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little before the last time I updated this fic, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I'm in remission now, hardest part is over, but... I don't know, I kind of lost my spark for this story during treatment and it took a very, very long time to get it back. I can't say for sure if I have it now (read as: no clue when I'll update again), but I'm very happy to have finally updated it regardless. 
> 
> And in return for your forgiveness, I have offered smut.
> 
> Well, yes and no, this scene was slated to happen anyway but I do acknowledge that not much plot advancement happens here. (Aside from Takao having to stop himself from saying a certain something...) Next chapter, though, is when things begin to come to a climax (er, not that kind this time) as I (FINALLY!) get into the last leg of this fic and begin to unpack the story behind Takao's ex.
> 
> As I said in the beginning, thanks for hanging in there. Hopefully, I can churn out the next chapter sooner rather than later! Any comments or questions are super encouraged and appreciated.
> 
> Til next time!


End file.
